Dreamlike and darkly serene, her works are possessed of a haunting beauty. With vivid color, gorgeous lighting, and a melancholic, fairytale-like atmosphere, her art tells stories of profound feeling, thought, and sorrow through expressive, dazzlingly beautiful models and decadent settings. Inspired by the beauty/decay of Old World Europe and its abandoned places, she strives to bring the viewer into a magical, fantasy world far away from reality. She is interested in combining these forgotten places with the “forgotten creatures” who inhabit the photographs. The subjects of her pieces are darkly beautiful, mourning, and alluring women, transformed into strange, otherworldly beings by makeup and styling. They are countesses, lost lovers, mermaids, doomed queens, and insane asylum inmates. There’s an elegant stillness and mournful quality to her works which any person inspired by Gothic art will be able to relate to. Her works are living fairy tales for the modern age, taking place in the midst of the ruins of the past. Annie is truly an inspirational artist, and has a unique vision that is sure to take her far. Her strangely beautiful world will leave you stunned.

I had the opportunity to ask Annie some questions about her work, inspirations, and plans for the future:

L: How long have you been doing this? When did you first pick up photography? Was there something about it that immediately grabbed you?

A: Actually, I think my interest in art started when I was a child. I painted a lot and attended courses in painting. I also did a few semesters of courses in drawing at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig in Germany. This helped shape my eye as an artist. Later in life I discovered photography as a medium and I am now ultimately trying to combine both of these media, painting and photography, in my art.

L: Quite simply, what inspires you? (This could be anything from other artists to an image you saw as a child, or a mood.)

A: There are a lot of artists who inspire me. I love the Renaissance with the Italian artists Botticelli, Michelangelo and da Vinci. I travelled to Florence to see their art in the famous Ufficeum. I was so impressed by Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” that I didn’t want to leave – I have never been this impressed by a painting ever again. I just wanted to stay there for the rest of my life! It was simply the most beautiful thing of all and it took me straight into another world – that’s why I also try to take the viewers of my pictures into another world.

The photographer who inspires me most is Floria Sigismondi. She does photography and also videos and films. She is full of creativity and ideas, a mixture between horror, beauty and strange situations, and her work is very emotional, it really touches my heart. She and her works showed me that it is important to follow my own heart and make my own way. That this is the only way to be: to be honest. Don’t go after the money or what others want to see from you, just make your own art.

L: How do you feel you’ve progressed as an artist since you first started? How has your style evolved or become more refined over the years?

A: Well, I’ve been working now over 16 years as a photo-artist and it really changed a lot. I started with a small analog SLR camera made from plastic. Later I developed my photos in a darkroom. I spent many hours in darkness. Before I started with photography I was a painter. As the digitalization revolution began my work changed a lot. And now I try to combine different kinds of media. I take photos and edit them in Photoshop so that they look a little bit like a painting. In my exhibitions you can see this on canvas. Because I see my work more as photoart than just photography.

L: What is a common theme that you try to convey in your artwork? What feeling are you trying to give?

A: Abandoned places inspire me a lot and most of my works were taken at those places. On the one hand I like to show beauty, on the other hand decay. It’s an interesting combination in my eyes. I try not only to show a beautiful face. I am a storyteller and try to take the viewers into a special magic world far away from their reality.

L: You’ve done a couple of pieces based on Anne Boleyn, a historical figure I love and have always found fascinating. Are there any other historical figures who inspire you or who you would wish to take a “portrait” of?

A: Yes, I have made a couple of pieces of Anne Boleyn and her life-tragedy is very inspirational for artworks.

There are a lot more inspiring historical persons. But at the moment I am more focused on my new book project.

L: What are some of your favorite fairy tales if you have any?

A: My favorite fairy tale writer is Hans Christian Anderson. I really love the Mermaid tale. He has a very romantic and melancholic style. That’s why I like it most.

L: What can you tell us about your latest book, Wahre Märchen (“True Fairy Tales”), and its title?

A: It is a project about Fairy Tales and my own interpretations of them. I took the old classical fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen and re-interpreted them with my own messages. So I made several photo-stories and I worked together with several different writers who wrote the tales “anew”. “Wahre Märchen” was released as a book August 2008 and turned into a bestseller. To complete the idea, I wanted to take the readers and viewers of the book into an actual world of fairy tales. That is how the idea to have special exhibitions with a special concept was born. In February 2009 the exhibition took place at Strychnin Gallery in Berlin. From the 11th of April until September 2009, it took place at the H.R. Giger Museum in Gruyères in Switzerland.

The cooperation with H.R. Giger started 2 years ago. They wanted me to take photos for a new book of the Giger Museum for its 10th anniversary. They were very happy with my results, especially the Alien, so they put one of my Alien-photos on the invitation and on the posters for the 10th Giger Museum anniversary. They were so impressed with my work that they also allowed me to have a photo shoot in Giger’s personal garden for my fairytale book, and Giger’s wife Carmen was my model for this story. We became friends and they offered me an exhibition at their museum. I am very excited about this success and want to thank all the people who helped me.

L: Do you have any favorite authors?

A: My favorite author is Christian von Aster. He has also written for all of my 3 books.

L: I believe you’ve done collaborative shoots with Vecona Clothing. Are there any other fashion designers you’ve worked with or would like to?

A: The collaborative shoots with Vecona were really great. I am a big admirer of her fashion and she is very talented. I am really glad that she is working with me on my new book project too.

There are some more great fashion designers I have worked with: Atsuko Kudo – latex designer from London, Tolllkirsche from Germany, Ponymaedchen (retro-style and nice uniforms) from Berlin, Marlenes Töchter who is doing fashion styles from the ’20s, V-Couture – a young designer from Germany who creates wonderful corsets, and some more.

It is always very inspiring to me to work with other artists like fashion designers, hairstylists, make-up artists and so on. To bring all creativity together is always exciting.

L: Something I’ve noticed about your work is that the models in your pictures are extraordinarily beautiful and elegant, they exude an uncommon grace and melancholy beauty. How do you choose your models?

A: I’ve worked with most of my models now for many years. With most of them I have a very close friendship and that’s important to me. Art comes from the heart and it’s important to me that my models understand this exactly. I don’t want to show only a nice face without an expression. There must be emotions and feelings and there must be the truth behind a face.

L: What are your plans or dreams for the future? What would you like to work on this coming year?

A: At the moment I am working on my new book called “The Obsolete Angels”, which I am going to release this summer. I’ve nearly finished the works in it. It took me 3 years’ work and it is my most personal book. Forgotten places and forgotten creatures play an important part. I travelled a lot in the last years to find breathtaking sceneries. Together with a team of models, authors, special make-up artists and friends I tried to make the impossible possible. The 13th of August, 2010 is the opening night for the first exhibition for this book. It will take place at the Strychnin Gallery in Berlin, Germany. Hope to see you there. :]

L: What would be your advice for emerging artists who are struggling to articulate their style or become known/established?

A: Be yourself. That’s the only truth.