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Ben Westwood: I met Peaches Geldof once. She was doing a reading at my mum's manifesto. She was very good. When she left the paparazzi were waiting for her outside. It was kind of like a game for her, to try and run away from them. Vice: Where do you find the actual face images?
On the internet. Vice: Do you read Heat or whatever?
No. Vice: Have you ever done anything this arty before? I mean high art?
There isn't a lot of high art around so I suppose there is an art element, in that this is stuff that is normally hidden away, and I'm bringing it out and making it my own into the mainstream. I mean, what I'd really like to do is make this fashion. I mean, I'm trying to promote fetish things more into the mainstream. Vice: Do you have strong tastes in art? Schools or artists you follow?
Technology, I suppose. I was thinking the other day that the last really artistic thing I was interested in was putting a man on the moon. That was really artistic. German Telly People: Brit-art?
Well, I'm not saying that it's Brit-art, but it's as artistic as any art and I'm British. German Telly People: Do you foresee any negative reaction?
It's possible. German Telly People: So you didn't set out to be controversial?
No. I think I've worked in the fetish scene for long enough that it's not really controversial in terms of what I do. German Telly People: If any of the subjects objected, would you take their picture down?
No. I don't think so. I don't think anyone would object. It's not meant to be derogatory. It's mean to be as colorful and as fun as possible. Eventually some fetishists arrived with some of the original models for Ben's pieces, like the girl in the middle of the picture below. She seemed quite proud of having leapt salmon-like over the porn barrier back into the art world.
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