Berlin-based photographer Angus Scratch Green's debut photo book captures a friendship group's 'international spiral of turmoil' 2 years
Sex, drugs, fur, and fake blood to rival Rob Zombie's work. This is what you get when you flip through the pages of Berlin-based photographer Angus Scratch Green's unfiltered publication. this is my lifestyle. Filmed during two years of hedonism by Green and his friends – “a bizarre group of musicians, artists, drug dealers, sex workers, and models” – the book is somewhere between lifestyle art and thought experiment. It would be best to think of it as something like
“Two years ago, a friend and I embarked on an international spiral of turmoil. Anyone who seemed unconventional attracted me. I guess I was just looking for an experience that pushed the envelope.” says Green. “Somewhere along this path, we began to develop the idea of 'lifestyle art', derived from Dada, and readjusted it for the Instagram era. and had no real purpose other than to entertain themselves through their erratic behavior.”
From bloody suits to naked photo shoots on the streets of Venice and the occasional drugged vendor. this is my lifestyle It's not for the narrow-minded. Besides offering a real glimpse into Greene's daily life (hence the book's title), the images are designed to provoke, even if the process itself is “unconscious.” He goes on to say, “I want people to think about what they believe and why they believe it. I want people to feel contempt, desire, confusion, acceptance, and ultimately… I want you to sink into immaterial benefits.”
Featuring friends and artist collaborators. Evanora Unlimited and model Chudney, the book serves as an extension of Green's creative work – he is also the art director of the underground fashion label KMIF, is what's behind the top of the famous “Kiss Me I'm Famous” vests on social. The bloody motif of the photobook is found throughout his work. “Now I'm starting to train my mind to make more interesting things,” he explains. “It’s nice to take pictures, but it’s also nice to develop physical products or shoot videos. I also like to do things like that. It's all the same impulse, so everything I release is bound by the same philosophy.”
This is the same DIY ethos that underpins most countercultures. A desire to resist the mainstream narrative of what is and is not acceptable. This is perhaps more needed than ever at a time when rising conservatism and online censorship make most of the images we see on social seem sanitized and safe. “True beauty is found in offline experiences and relationships,” he agrees. “I hope people can start a new life.”
“This Is My Lifestyle” is currently Sx series
