Cyclop Man

It was a warm summer morning in East London. As we walked around trying to find the best spot for the final photo, I asked Cyclop Man (nickname for the Cirque du Soleil circus artist underneath the mask who asked to remain anonymous) if he could pose outside a warehouse for a moment.

The mask was purchased at a dress-up shop in London's Camden called Escapade that since got shut down.

The final photograph that ended up as part of 'Naked with Masks' was photographed not far from this location, at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with London Stadium in the background.

July 31, 2015. Fish Island, Hackney Wick, London, UK.

Helene Panda

I met Helene Atsuko in my early London days through photographing for fetish, burlesque and cabaret clubs.

Helene was a professional fetish and latex model, and for this shoot, we used her own custom-made inflatable latex panda mask.

The photograph was taken in the back garden of the first place I moved into while living in the UK; a shared apartment house with 3 other flatmates in North West London.

The final photograph that ended up as part of 'Naked with Masks' was photographed at the exact same spot, 10 minutes later.

June 5, 2010. Brondesbury Park, London, UK.

Balloon Man

I finally managed to visit Montreal for the first time in the summer of 2016. I stayed for the whole month of July; full-on summer alongside non-stop festivals.

I came to explore and work on my projects 'Transfiguration' and 'Dancers on Rooftops' with local circus artists and dancers.

Montreal is home to Cirque du Soleil and its famous circus festival MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE. Obviously, the city is a Mecca for dancers and circus artists.

One night, Sigrid La Chapelle was introduced to me by a mutual circus artist dancer friend. Sigrid is a multitalented artistic director & developer, producer, photographer, scenographer and performer. He's also famous for his intricate balloon hat-like headpieces, which he spends hours when creating each.

When we met, he showed me photos of these headpieces on his phone. I told him about my 'Naked with Masks' project and asked if he thinks he could create a mask out of his balloons instead of a headpiece. He said he could. I then pushed my luck further and asked if he'd be up to be the model with the balloon mask. He agreed.

It took Sigrid about 3 hours to create this magnificent piece, only to be worn for a few minutes. Luckily, we had a camera to freeze that moment in a frame, forever.

The final photograph that ended up as part of 'Naked with Masks' was photographed at the exact same spot, without the zip-up hoodie he used here to cover his private parts.

July 24, 2016. The bank of St. Lawrence River, Montreal, Canada.

Nadia Cthulhu

My musician performer friend Tom Baker had a fantastic Cthulhu mask made for him by another prop-maker mutual friend Aste Amundsen. He used this mask for a character in a burlesque routine he'd perform as a cabaret host. It was at a nightclub called The Last Days of Decadence in East London. During this time, I used to be the club's in-house photographer.

I told Tom I was working on a new photo series called 'Naked with Masks', where I photograph naked people wearing masks. I asked if I could borrow his mask for a photo shoot and he agreed.

My friend Nadia was the model, and since Tom often used the mask for work, we had to pick it up at the club after he finished his set, still wet from his sweat.

On our way home, we tried several locations across London. When we got off the bus outside the shared apartment I used to live in, we decided to try a few photos at the bus stop.

We used the light of a bus stop and waited for the road to be clear of cars. In this photo, Nadia was flashing her lower private parts as I was trying to decide on the best position for the final image. It was taken at 4:19am. The final photograph that ended up as part of 'Naked with Masks' was photographed at the exact same spot, 3 minutes later.

A month on, the final nude picture was exhibited along with 9 others at ACT ART, a London group exhibition with strong sexual queer & gay-oriented works. The theme was Censorship, and that was the beginning of 'Naked with Masks'.

June 5, 2010. Brondesbury Park, London, UK.

Ghana Lola

I saw this mask hung at my aunt's place in Israel. She told me she bought it in Ghana, and let me borrow it for a shoot.

Since the mask was more of a wall-hanging piece, Lola, the model, had to hold it with both of her hands.

Here she's standing during sunrise at the top of Ramon Crater; the world's largest erosion crater.

The final photograph that ended up as part of 'Naked with Masks' was photographed a day prior to this, in a different area of the desert, wearing a different mask.

April 14, 2015. Ramon Crater, Negev Desert, Israel.

Amy Mermaid

This Mermaid mask was hand-made entirely out of latex by Am Statik. It's worn here by Amy who's standing on the roof of my studio's building in Hackney Wick, a neighbourhood I spent 8 years of my life in, and created a huge chunk of my work at.

We took this photograph on a cold January London afternoon. It was 5 minutes before the final photograph that ended up as part of 'Naked with Masks' was photographed, a couple of metres away from this spot.

Today that roof has penthouse apartments built on it.

January 28, 2013. Hackney Wick, London, UK.

Jonathan Dog

This photograph of my friend, Canadian nomadic circus artist Jonathan Fortin, was taken on a very cold winter London afternoon. The location is called Hackney Marshes, an area of open space in London's Lower Lea Valley, internationally known as the spiritual home of Sunday league football, with 82 football, rugby and cricket pitches.

The mask was purchased at a dress-up shop in London's Camden called Escapade that since got shut down. The final photograph that ended up as part of 'Naked with Masks' was photographed at the exact same spot, 2 minutes later.

December 2, 2014. Hackney Marshes, London, UK.

Clown Abie

This photograph, similar to the 'Helene Panda' photo, was taken in the back garden of the first place I moved into while living in the UK; a shared apartment house with 3 other flatmates in North West London.

When I started working on 'Naked with Masks', the 3 main challenges were finding good masks, locations and models.

Living in London already made shooting nudes outdoors more difficult because of the cold, but it was also difficult to find secluded public spots for the nudity.

When I photographed Abie, I didn't have any locations in mind so again, I used our back tiny garden. 

Some of the masks I used were hand-made by mask and prop makers. It was my personal preference, but when I couldn't source such masks, I tried using whatever I can buy in dress-up shops. With Abie, on this cold winter afternoon, we tried a few of those. These masks were all purchased at a dress-up shop in London's Camden called Escapade that since got shut down. 

I ended up including a picture with this mask in the main project, taken behind the conservatory window at the entrance back to our apartment.

I also included 3 other photos with 3 different masks, all titled 'Abie'.

Nov 2, 2010. Brondesbury Park, London, UK.

Abby Stag

This photograph is a perfect example of the work that goes into a photography project behind the scenes; none of the photos I created with Abby on that day were included in the final 'Naked with Masks' collection.

When I did the first sessions for the project, I would usually carry a few masks with me, and sometimes try the same ones on different models in different locations.

In the end, I chose photos I created with another model using this mask; titled 'Scarlett' in the main project.

Fun fact about this photograph: Abby is standing on top of the roof of a police station in East London. You could climb onto its roof from the roof of her apartment building, which was right next to it.

In the back behind her mask, you can notice the famous '30 St Mary Axe' London tower aka The Gherkin.

This stag mask was handmade in London by Ghoulia's Peculiars (Jules Newman).

June 4, 2010. Dalston, London, UK.

Red Walrus

I met Red Walrus at parties, events and festivals I went to around London and the UK.

He was a lovely playful flamboyant character - an obvious contestant for my 'Naked with Masks' project.

When I wanted to photograph more men for the project, he was one of the first I got in touch with.

The mask we used was a mixture of a funky psychedelic walrus headpiece, with his face covered by a fuzzy red wig - both owned by him.

We tried a few different spots and angles around one of my favourite locations in London; 'Nature's Throne' at the Middlesex Filter Beds Nature Reserve.

Completed in 1990 and constructed from huge granite blocks that were once the foundations of the Victoria Engine House, 'Nature's Throne' is an artwork by local artist and sculptor Paula Haughney. It's also nicknamed London's very own Stone Henge - 'Hackney Henge'. It sits in a wetland making a lovely place for contemplation in a busy city.

Red Walrus, the model, asked to remain anonymous. Here he's standing on one of the granite blocks, wearing a kimono that's just barely covering his genitals.

July 6, 2015. Middlesex Filter Beds Nature Reserve, Hackney, London, UK.

Hana Rabbit

I took this photograph at the carpark of Hana's central London apartment. I assume it was meant for offices. It was a Thursday; late enough in the evening for the carpark to be empty of cars and quiet of people, but early enough to catch the last rays of the sun.

For nearly 2 years since my move to London, and prior to creating 'Naked with Masks', I would regularly photograph for London’s alternative & fetish clubs. I consider this period of my life as an introduction to anything I can today refer to as 'Ben Hopper’. It played a significant role in expanding my perception of human play and sexuality. It connected me to an extraordinary collection of human beings who took part in my later art projects – many of them inspired in one way or another by those first experiences.

2 of those humans were the gay couple, musicians and curators, Oliver Frost & Marc Massive (of 'Massive Ego' band). We met a few times and we became friendly. One night, after I took their photo at the goth Club AntiChrist, they told me about their coming event ACT ART, a London group exhibition with strong sexual queer & gay-oriented works. They asked if I had anything to submit so I could take part. They said the theme is Censorship.

I showed them one image I made with a tattooed girl. Her back to the camera, wearing a mask turned around, facing the camera (titled 'Cat Chappell' on 'Naked with Masks'). I told them I could create 9 more similar ones, photographing different models naked, wearing masks. They liked the idea, and during a period of a month, I created the first batch of ‘Naked with Masks’.

Another human called Charles Ceveira, used to attend AntiChrist wearing an insane over-the-top Peter Rottentail rabbit mask. One night at the club, after I started photographing for the project, I approached him and asked if I could borrow it for the project. He agreed.

The following month, the final nude picture, taken a few metres away from this one, was exhibited along with 9 others at ACT ART 8. 'Naked with Masks' was the first project I ever published. It laid the cornerstone for all of my work in the following 15 years.

June 16, 2010. Victoria, London, UK.

Pizza Luca

To date, I’ve done 55 photo sessions for ‘Naked with Masks’. 

12 years in the making and photos from more than 1/3 of these sessions weren't included in the project.

When I photographed Luca, we tried 2 different masks near Wapping in London. The photos came out pretty cool, but something didn’t feel 100% there.

A week later, we decided to try again. Luca, being an artistic Italian obsessed with Italian food, decided he wants to try to make a mask from a pizza cardboard box.

We went to the bank of River Thames near Wapping and gave it another try. It was a lovely hot sunny summer early afternoon.

The mask, a triangle cut and glued pizza box with red Bristol paper covering, ended up looking like a CGI model which felt unique. We were much happier with that image and decided to archive the previous shoot.

The final photograph that ended up as part of 'Naked with Masks' was photographed at the exact same spot, 20 minutes later. To our surprise, the rock on which Luca stands was almost entirely covered by water due to high tide. We managed to take the winning photograph seconds before it disappeared completely under the water.

July 29, 2014. Wapping, London, UK.

Imogen Woodland

This photograph of my friend and collaborator Imogen was taken at one of my favourite places in London, Wick Woodland - a beautiful strange forest patch 15 minutes walk from my London studio in Hackney Wick.

I spent many afternoons strolling around there when taking breaks from my studio.

It was also an obvious photo shoot location when I didn’t have other options.

The mask was hand-made by my actress neighbour Paula Videniece who let me borrow it for the project.

The photo was taken on a very cold winter afternoon in 2015.

I didn’t use any of the photos from this session in the main project.

February 8, 2015. Wick Woodland, London, UK.

Angela Fish Island

I took this photograph of Chinese model Angela on Fish Island, not far from my studio in Hackney Wick where I lived and worked for 8 years.

Fish Island was a part of my strange beloved neighbourhood. When you walked around, it felt like anything could happen and nothing was too weird. It was incredibly liberating to create from that place, surrounded by a community that rode on the same wave.

We walked into a complex of studios and climbed a flight of stairs. We found a flat roof section that looked like a made-up balcony with some plants in pots. We decided it would make a good spot for the picture.

Just as we were setting up, the guy who lived there opened the door right next to us to ask what we were up to. We apologised, explained and asked if it was ok to continue. He shrugged with an obvious expression as if he was saying "why do you even ask, it's Hackney Wick" and closed the door.

The mask was purchased at a dress-up shop in London's Camden called Escapade that since got shut down.

June 16, 2014. Fish Island, London, UK.

Red Telephone Box Holly

This photograph was taken at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, on a cold 2016 winter day.

The mask was created out of 2 layers of skin tone tights.

The park was nearby to my studio and had fantastic spots for such photographs, but it also had a lot of people walking around. We found this half-cut British red telephone box and thought it’d be funny to take some photos with it.

We had to be really fast, every moment someone passed by.

The final photograph that ended up as part of 'Naked with Masks' was photographed at the exact same spot, 3 minutes later.

November 11, 2016. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, UK.

Balinese Jo

For the last photograph in this collection I’m featuring my friend once more, Canadian nomadic circus artist Jonathan Fortin.

It was taken a little more than a year and a half after the first featured photo, 7th in this collection.

Exactly one week after I photographed Sigrid, the 3rd in this collection.

We made it on the roof of Jonathan’s building in the Le Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood of Montreal.

As opposed to #7, this one took place on a very hot summer day.

We used his flatmate’s Balinese mask which he bought in Bali, Indonesia.

I never used photos from this session in the main project.

July 31, 2016. Montreal, Canada.