Florian Tenk: On Bare Skin, Bare Cities & Bare Intentions

It’s the heat that seeps into everything – reuniting with one of his favorite muses, Kevin Brand, photographer Florian Tenk’s series of pictures is a breath of very hot air indeed. Enjoy some precious, imported sunshine from Belgrade with this beyond gorgeous editorial by Florian. “Belgrade in August is hot, hot, hot. The kind of heat that seeps into everything: the streets, the rhythm and the way you move, the way you dress – or don’t” – Florian Tenk’s pictures invite the viewer to look at his models in a certain way, like it was always in the middle of the summer, somewhere, and his latest series is no exemption.

“There was a lot of bare skin, a bare city, and sometimes… bare intentions. That heat became part of the atmosphere we were working in: everything felt a bit slower, a bit more sensual, but somehow, the focus and flow were always there.” For this occasion, Florian asked his long time collaborator for over ten years, Kevin Brand to be his muse. He had all the right reasons to do so.

Photography Florian Tenk Actor Kevin Brand

“Kevin is an actor, and one of the few people I’ve worked with over such a long stretch of time. I guess one thing that’s changed is that he’s become more famous and more successful. He moved to Madrid, and his career keeps growing. But every time we meet, it still feels familiar. There’s something in the way we reconnect that hasn’t changed. Maybe we’re a bit more mature now, but really, just a little.”

Theirs is a perfect duo, their work giving out a much needed glow, a prelude to the summer that lies ahead. In Florian’s words, it’s like the heat we saved to hibernate. Some pictures to remember when out on a sunny August afternoon. “Photography is many things to me: a way to observe, to explore, to hold on. Sometimes I take pictures simply to remember – to collect souvenirs of time. I’m drawn to the medium because it preserves fleeting moments, yet always reminds us of their transience.”