BLESS THIS MESS

“Every job throws you into a vortex of the unexpected.” Prague-based creative photography duo SHOTBY.US introduces a new photo series called “Sips”. Featuring vibrant colours, abstract amoebic shapes and bits of sweets, the pictures feel like examining specimen samples from a psychedelic pond under a microscope.

If your creative duo had a signature catchphrase that encapsulated your approach to photography, what would it be?

Bless this mess.

Can you tell us about the creative vision that shaped your latest sweet-themed photo series?

That intoxicating taste of the night. That one exact. Specific. Night. When the membranes touched. For the first time. That surprise. That shock. Those unexpected, adventurous, and vulgar neural signals. That daring and risky wonder of the night. When the sugar slowly flows. Desired to be licked. Being licked. Dripping. Bubbling. Craving. For more. More. Forever more. Hungry. Thirsty. Parched. Desperate and happy. Shivering. Changed. Altered. Forever more. Before leaving. To forget. And to remember. Forever more.

What’s the wildest project you’ve developed through your photographic career and how did it come to life?

Look, sometimes, you just can’t postpone the timing and you are fighting against the time, sometimes people on set accidentally cut their hands open and bleed. It’s a wild lifestyle. A wild industry. And every job throws you into a vortex of the unexpected. Each project is a wild beast waiting to be tamed and we are just happy to be there tackling everything that comes our way.

What is the unique advantage of working as a creative duo compared to working solo?  

It is always about two kinds of people. Saints and sinners. Thinkers and doers. Thunder and lightning. Mercury and sulfur. Here and there. 

But in the end, it’s just nice to have someone to have your back. 

At SWARM Mag, we are now focusing on the theme of SUGAR RUSH. Is there a particular candy that helps keep you energised while working?

After all these years, we kinda stick to sweet pastries, chocolate and coffee during work. But, in the end, we still love candy! Mostly visually – it inspires us so much. How beautiful, colourful, vain and decadent it is! Melty, artificially and unnaturally captivating. Each one being a unique unholy lump of delight.

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Bio

SHOTBY.US is an award-winning photography duo (Lenka Glisníková and Karolína Matušková) renowned for engaging visual storytelling. Their expressive image composites radiate playfulness and enthusiasm through bold colours, imaginative compositions, and unconventional concepts. With a deep grounding in Fine Art, they explore photography as a creative playground, focusing our process on research and developing compelling narratives. Theis signature style utilises humour and visual mystification to captivate audiences. Each image is a window into enchanting realms that underscore the transformative power of photography to amuse, fascinate, and inspire.

Credits

Artist/ SHOTBY.US

https://www.shotby.us

Interview / Kateřina Hynková

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