"I’ve been dreaming to create." : Reine Paradis - New series "Eclipse" at König gallery - Interview by Noah Becker

Artist Reine Paradis at her exhibition in Berlin at König Gallery, Berlin.

By NOAH BECKER March 14, 2025

Noah Becker: Your artistic process is incredibly meticulous, from conceptualizing a scene to scouting locations and constructing costumes and props. How did this process evolve for ECLIPSE, and did you face any unexpected challenges?

Reine Paradis: The process and techniques are constantly evolving over time as the work expands and grows, however some of the core principles of how I approach the work remain the same.

After I locked down the color palette for the new series ‘Eclipse,’ a minimalist selection of three colors which took about two years to finalize, I then translated the visions in my head into collaged maquettes on paper. I use those as blueprints for when we photograph the scenes in locations around the world. It is vital for me to ‘live' the scene as the subject of the self portraits, always in a blond wig and neon transparent costumes which act as an armor of sorts, allowing me to push way beyond my limits. 

Exhibition view at König gallery, Berlin
 

The photos are then edited so that the colors of the scene match my color palette—another very meticulous process but so necessary for me to communicate my vision completely.

The paintings and the glass sculptures come in a similar way, however they are created in my studio in Los Angeles. A lot of the elements within the paintings are directly related to the original visions, and some are even deconstructed images of a photographed scene. The glass sculptures come from my photos as well. Each part is connected in some way to my surreal world. 

NB: The concept of duality—reality versus imagination, concealment versus revelation—is a strong theme in your work. How does ECLIPSE push this exploration further?

RP: The title ‘Eclipse,’ this latest series of photos, paintings and sculptures, speaks to the tension of presence and absence, what is seen and unseen—my goal with this series (and all my work) is to create a time and place that exists in both reality and imagination. Something that feels surreal upon first glance, but as curiosity draws one closer, the reality of the work emerges. 

With the use of reflective and transparent materials in my work obscures, reflects, and absorbs light while creating an aurora-like barrier—one that can hide but also illuminate. 

There is a further exploration into the subconscious in the sense of being ‘exposed’, not only by subjecting myself to being the main character in the image, but also by the use of harsh, mid-day lighting—where nothing can hide. 

Glass House 1, Acrylic on canvas
 

NB: You immerse yourself in your own staged worlds, embodying a character within them. How do you view the relationship between performance and self-portraiture in your work?

RP: When I started creating my work over 13 years ago, I never imagined I would actually be in the images. In fact, I had a very negative self image—at times I felt invisible. 

To this day, there is still a real vulnerability I feel when shooting a scene, even with the wig and the costume. It’s true I am, in a way, embodying another character, but to me it’s still feels deeply intimate and real. 

Though it could be called a performance, I see it as if I’m actually ‘living’ in my scene. It’s the closest I can come to inhabiting the world I’m working to create. 

 PYRAMIDE, Shot on a roof in Palm Springs, California, Archival pigment print

NB: Your use of color is strikingly controlled and surreal. What role does color play in ECLIPSE, and did you experiment with any new approaches?

RP: My language is color. It’s not only a conduit for expression or for capturing a mood, it is me describing how I see the world.

Before I even begin with the creation of a new series, I must first lock down my color palette. This can take me a while because my colors are so specific, so I have to be absolutely in love with them before I can move on, but once I have them, the work opens up in front of me like a great expanse of possibility. 

I’ve had this obsession since I was a child, and I know it will always remain central to my work as long as I am able to create.

THE GATE, Shot in Palms Springs, California, Archival pigment print
 

NB: Your sculptures add a three-dimensional aspect to your practice, moving your visions beyond photography and painting. What drew you to uranium glass as a material, and how does it connect to the themes of ECLIPSE?

RP: Sculptures were something I’ve been dreaming to create since the beginning, so it felt very natural to expand into this new medium. I love immersive works, I love being able to touch something or move around it or see it from different angles.  

Uranium glass was an exotic choice I’ll admit—side note: Uranium glass emits about the same or even less radiation than the potassium in a banana so it is harmless. 

It took me two years just to find the materials and a glassmaker who would work with me on it, and another year of trial and error to create a single piece. So far I’ve made two and they are on display in my solo show at König Gallery in Berlin.

To me this was an obvious choice of materials because it’s the only glass that is fluorescent yellow, which is part of my color palette for the series. It also plays with the themes of ‘Eclipse’ because the way the glass reflects and transforms under different light.

THE MOON, Shot on the North Coast, California, Archival pigment print

NB: In your upcoming film PARADISLAND, we’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of ECLIPSE. How does filmmaking shape your artistic vision, and how does it differ from your other mediums?

RP: I remember after the release of my first series ‘Jungle’ in 2016, that people, upon first glance, often didn’t know if the photographs were real. So my partner Carl Lindstrom, who happens to be a director, decided to make a film about the next series and show people what it takes to make the images, and also give them a look at who I was and why I was going to these extreme lengths to create these images. 

We ended up doing a feature documentary called “Queen of Paradis” (2020, Amazon Prime) which showed the process from start to end.

Our new film “Paradis Land,” set to release in fall 2025, is the next chapter of that story and covers the last five years during the creation of my latest body of work ‘Eclipse.’ 

Even though I’m heavily implicated in the filming process, I really have a hands off approach to how it is made. Carl and I have an agreement that he is in charge of everything to do with the film, and I think it is perfect that way.

NB: Your work often blurs the line between reality and fiction. Do you see your art as an escape, a commentary, or something else entirely?

RP: The blurriness between reality and imagination is more of a reflection of my state of mind, not necessarily a reflection of my everyday life. 

I am very driven, and optimistic, and it’s true I wear bright neon colors even going to the grocery store, however there is a dark side to my work as well. Even if it's rendered in iridescent neon yellow, it’s present and I embrace it. 

The process behind my work is also intense, and sometimes dangerous. Even if the finished work feels effortless, the physical dedication that goes into it most would consider extreme. For instance, when selecting the red color I use in my paintings, it took me two years of adjusting samples with a master paint colorist before I got the mixture and finish just right. Another example was the logistics in photographing “The Iceberg” scene, which took me and Carl to Iceland to find an iceberg, which needed a hole drilled into it, upon where we would insert a custom made 'wind sock’ pole, which I would then climb onto for the photo… This scene took us over a week of just waiting, through hurricane force winds, sand storms and rain, for the right conditions to be able to shoot. 

Like anyone, I experience stress and pressure, and nothing is ever easy. In fact, art is extremely difficult. It is a battle to create, it is a battle to show the work, it is a battle to live outside of the structure of society. So it’s imperative for that resistance and friction to transform and become fuel for us, as artists, to push on and create. 

It’s not so much about escaping reality as it is about re-framing it.

THE TWINS II, Acrylic on canvas

NB: Many of your pieces feel cinematic, almost like stills from an unseen film. How has your experience living in Los Angeles influenced your visual storytelling?

RP: When I moved to Los Angeles in 2012, I was immediately inspired by the sunlight and architecture, which are so different from what I was used to growing up in rural France.

I agree, there is a real cinematic quality to my work—I want the viewer can step into my perfect frame. Like in the works of artist Yayoi Kusama and how she is able to create (and live in) another world which is so singular to her. 

A little secret about me is that I see buildings and landscapes in 2D, (yes, I have depth perception), however my artistic eye sees the world in two dimensions. So when I imagine a location for a scene, I must seek out the real world location that matches my vision. It’s because of this that the locations end up resembling theater props, or backgrounds on a stage, however they real locations.

Ultimately, I strive to build a world that didn’t exist before—where the grains of colors are the atoms that make up the walls and the mountains, and reality is bent through the lens of our imagination.

NB: Your projects take years to complete, involving travel, construction, and performance. How do you know when a piece—or an entire series—is finished?

RP: Sometimes the final work can come quickly, and it’s true other times it take years to complete. Sometimes there's an image that I’ve tried to capture many times and it just never works—until it does. For example, “The Pool” image was attempted at least three different times over the course of ten years and it never embodied my original vision. Finally I was able to truly capture it during our shoot in Mexico City in 2024. This image is now one of my favorites. 

It’s mysterious and hard to describe, in that way it’s like love I guess—I have to love my images for them to be finished.  

NB: What do you hope viewers take away from ECLIPSE? Is there a particular emotion or idea you want them to leave with?

RP: My aim is to allow the viewer to find their own meaning in what they see. The same way a tarot card can be read many different ways, the same goes for my work, and is unique to each person.

The character in the image might seem frozen in the act, just like we may appear frozen, but in reality we are charged with an unknown potential at any given moment—on the precipice of something inevitable, or pushing through the membrane of the barrier in front of us. The figure in my work is the same—caught in the breath before the leap. WM