Spyros Rennt for Lampoon, the Muscles issue: «photography should be tangible»
Rave culture and homoeroticism, the facets of Greek photographer Spyros Rennt recounted in his latest work for Lampoon – Nan Goldin, Wolfgang Tillmans and Ryan McGinley as a reference
Spyros Rennt’s background in engineering
Spyros Rennt never had a clear vision of seeing himself as a professional photographer. He started taking photos professionally around 2017 but coming from a completely different background, the one of engineering. «I had a profound desire to do something creative and photography was something I liked, and I was always looking for creative ways to express myself».
Spyros Rennt: first steps between Athens and Berlin
Originally from Athens he decided to move to Berlin around 2011 for a change of scenery. «Living in Berlin has definitely had an impact on my transition from engineering to photography. The city has a specific and unique character and also my everyday life there inspired me in a way to start documenting it».
At the beginning nothing was too planned or organized in his mind, he wanted to operate in a sort of instinctive way.
The initial excitement he felt while going out and meeting lots of new people in a new city, skyrocketed his productivity levels, something that later on proved to be of great help to kickstart his career.
«In 2018 even with less than two years of professional work, I have produced a lot of content. I came up with the idea of publishing my first photography book, Another Excess, which turned out to be quite a success. It helped me create this buzz around my name and work and a lot of people got to know me this way. I mailed it all over the world. And it opened a lot of doors for me».
Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles and Spyros Rennt’s new projects
Among various projects he did this past year, Rennt singled out his collaboration with Diesel for its capsule collection, in partnership with the Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles, where he was given a lot of creative freedom.
«I was allowed to do my own casting, so I included a lot of my close friends from Berlin. It was quite an intimate project because I photographed people inside their own home».
In another collaboration with the high-end luggage brand Rimowa, he photographed four queer couples in some of Berlin’s most iconic train stations.
«I consider myself lucky at the way things ended up for me. I became known quite early on in my career and I am happy that because of that I am now able to do a lot of exciting collaborations as well as my own projects».
Portraits, Spyros Rennt first exhibition in Athens
This past June he also presented his first exhibition back to his hometown of Athens, Greece called Portraits and published the zine under the same title.
«The foundation of my work is my own experiences». Rennt says about his photography style. But of course, he explains that he does not put on display everything that happens in his personal life. «Almost everything is curated, even some of the most intimate stuff».
He likes to keep some things to himself, and he selects what he wants to publish, from his Instagram page to his zines and photography books. «My life, contrary to popular belief, is not a never-ending rave, it can be quite boring and ordinary, and that’s normal».
Rennt is a man of many interests, but he is aware that he is known to most people as a photographer whose main theme is capturing a lot of the nightlife and in general a queer lifestyle. «I believe in this honesty and intimacy that you can see in my work, it’s part of who I am».
Queer state of mind – Athens and Berlin in comparison
Even though he lives and works mostly in Berlin and abroad, he enjoys taking photos in Athens as well. Something he gets asked a lot is whether he would photograph the same things in Athens and in Berlin, meaning that Athens lacks the traditionally open queer culture that Berlin has been characterized by for decades.
«I often say that there are photographers with whom we share the same body of work and interests, that are based in Athens, and they have a similar photographic style to mine. So hypothetically speaking I’d do the same. But who I am now and what I photograph has drawn inspiration mostly from my life in Berlin. With that being said I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t live a part of my life in Athens as well, but I can say with certainty that now I am more determined and self-aware».
Apart from a personal choice, he considers his focus on showing a queer point of view and exploring the queer experience, political as well because he wants to contribute to the visibility of the matter. It is a conscious choice to bring his attention there but it is also something that comes naturally to him. «This is my life, and these are my friends».
Zines and Magazines. Rennt photography is tangible
Since a photography book kickstarter his career, Rennt is a strong advocate for printed editions acting as a media to get across your message to the world, as he also believes that is, simply put, «great to have something tangible». The same applies for the zines that are more ephemeral and not so strictly organized as the books, and they also come in a smaller number of copies.
«By now doing these publications has become an inseparable part of my work. Another reason would be because I also take a lot of explicits, and it would be impossible to share everything online, so this allows me to publish footage that has never been seen before».
Some of his favorite photography books include Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, and others by Wolfgang Tillmans and Ryan McGinley.
The publication of a series of zines titled Non-Essentials
During the first lockdown in 2020 he couldn’t be as productive as he used to be, naturally because «my job is to go out and photograph people» and because of all the restrictions he couldn’t just go and do that.
«At some point in Berlin there were a lot of house parties that were happening since clubs and bars were closed, so I started going there and taking photos and from that came a lot of interesting material».
That resulted in the publication of a series of zines titled Non-Essentials with a lot of content from this period and the title came from the then division between essential and non-essential workers. As it was decided that any creative or artistic activity would classify as non-essential, this was an intentional comment Rennt wanted to make on that decision. «In reality I didn’t stop creating during that time».
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS
In 2021 Rennt was awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS, an eight-month program, which offers funding and opportunities for professional development and networking for artists in fields such as visual arts. In addition to the stipend, it offers participants networking opportunities through artist residency programs in partnership with cultural organizations in Greece and abroad.
«This was a great experience because apart from the financial part of the award, I got to meet Greek artists that otherwise I wouldn’t have had the chance to because I don’t have a proper artistic background as far as technical education is concerned and also because I live in Berlin. It was exciting but also moving to get in touch and see the work of other artists that thrive in Greece. It was quite an honor to meet them in person and see their perspective on several subjects through their work».
Spyros Rennt’s future plans and coming trips
As for his next steps Rennt claims that he doesn’t like planning out things and just let them come his way spontaneously. One of the main things he would like to do in the future is to travel more outside Europe.
«Being in a new city is always an inspiration itself. I’d like to visit Mexico which is super sunny and as you know great lighting makes a great photo. Also, I’d like to visit Los Angeles and Asia, because I love the work of Ren Hang».
Process Properly Proceeding, Spyros Rennt’s ultimate work for Lampoon
«There’s nothing like the energy between two bodies that lust over each other. Documenting couples has been a part of my practice for years. Photographing two people who are in a relationship together feels like arriving to an unexplored island for the first time; every relationship has different dynamics from couple to couple, but this is also what makes the process proceed. We cast and shot four couples in Berlin. We did this over the course of a weekend, two days full of affection and romantic gestures».
Spyros Rennt
Greek artist who lives and works between Athens and Berlin. He has published two photographic books, Another Excess (2018) and Lust Surrender (2020) as well as multiple zines. His work has been featured in publications worldwide, such as Interview, i-D, Dazed, Sleek, Indie, Electronic Beats, and Kaltblut, among others. He has been awarded the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Artist Fellowship by ARTWORKS in 2021.
Photography Spyros Rennt and styling Niki Pauls
Casting: Chisom Abuba @Whitecasting
Hair and makeup: Susanna Jonas
Styling assistant: Sophie Bohmeier
Hair and make up assistant Anri Omori
Talents Sturm and Maxima: @IndeedModels, Nico and Diego @IzaioModelManagement, Nico and Kiara@KultModels, Lisa and Vinu
Marva Tyrogianni
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