Swedish photographer Hannah Modigh recently spent two months living in a motel in St. Charles, Virginia. She fell in with a group of kids there, started shooting them, and ended up making one of the best-looking documentary series we’ve seen in years. But why are the photos so pretty, even though she was in one of the poorest regions of America? “Lots of photographers decide to portray things as harsh and ugly,” Hannah tells us. “I don’t want to do that. I’d rather go to a place that might be rough and try to find beauty.”
A good and noble cause, this Hannah has. And she pulled it off. EXTRA!
AN INTERVIEW WITH HANNAH MODIGH
28-year-old Hannah Modigh grew up in Madras, India, but now lives in Stockholm. She’s known she was going to be a photographer ever since she was 13 and got her first camera from her mom. So far she’s brought it to several faraway places, where she’ll head off on her own to do things like document 13-year-old heroin addicts or Danish sex workers. In her spare time Hannah does volunteer work in a Stockholm’s homeless shelters. She has spent so much time surrounded by poverty, fear, and loneliness that we were a little bit surprised when we first met her and she looked like a tiny, cute version of Jennifer Lopez or someone.
Vice: Where are you from?
Hannah Modigh: What led you to Appalachia? It’s not just the land that’s pretty, everyone is really beautiful in your pictures. It’s almost like Chloe styled everyone. You were there living in a motel by yourself for two months. Was it lonely? Would you try to get them to do anything specific or just tag along for whatever they were up to? Your project is called “Hillbilly Heroin, Honey,” in reference to the popularity of Oxycontin. Did you do drugs too? Do you ever feel weird taking part in the lives of others, and then just picking yourself up and walking away? Did you get in any trouble in Virginia? Your pictures are so intimate, it’s like you’re not even in the room. What do you do to make people that comfortable? What’s the first thing you say to someone you want to photograph?
What was the weirdest thing that happened to you in St. Charles? That’s pretty harsh. Were there any incidents with the snakes? Being a cute girl like yourself, is that an advantage or a disadvantage in your job? What was the most fun thing that happened while you were there? What do your parents think about your job? Is there anything that you experience as a photographer that you won’t tell them about?
Like what?
A good and noble cause, this Hannah has. And she pulled it off. EXTRA!
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Hannah Modigh: What led you to Appalachia? It’s not just the land that’s pretty, everyone is really beautiful in your pictures. It’s almost like Chloe styled everyone. You were there living in a motel by yourself for two months. Was it lonely? Would you try to get them to do anything specific or just tag along for whatever they were up to? Your project is called “Hillbilly Heroin, Honey,” in reference to the popularity of Oxycontin. Did you do drugs too? Do you ever feel weird taking part in the lives of others, and then just picking yourself up and walking away? Did you get in any trouble in Virginia? Your pictures are so intimate, it’s like you’re not even in the room. What do you do to make people that comfortable? What’s the first thing you say to someone you want to photograph?
What was the weirdest thing that happened to you in St. Charles? That’s pretty harsh. Were there any incidents with the snakes? Being a cute girl like yourself, is that an advantage or a disadvantage in your job? What was the most fun thing that happened while you were there? What do your parents think about your job? Is there anything that you experience as a photographer that you won’t tell them about?
Like what?
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