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Ifa Brand never felt satisfied as a model. The dissatisfaction stemmed from not being able to represent her true identity: 'I fell “between styles”: alternative but not alternative enough; fetish but not in a typical sense. I also disliked photographers telling me how I should look, pose, behave; telling me no to red lips, no to precious lingerie and all the things I loved.’

In 2017, she decided to go her own way. She saw photography as an opportunity to be her own creative director, to follow her own storylines, and to explore her own vision of sensuality, eroticism and fetish.

Hers is a quest for personal empowerment through the art of self-portraiture: ‘I find it very important to present a strong, independent woman. There needs to be an element of being untouchable. The message to the viewer is: yes you can look but solely on my terms.’

Ifa Brand spent five years at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, studying jewelry design, graduating as a master silversmith & jewelry designer. During her time there, she began modeling as a hobby, but it soon assumed a bigger role in her life. In 2013, she had her big break when she was featured on the cover of Dutch Playboy magazine. She describes this period in her life:

‘I modelled for a few years but never felt satisfied. The dissatisfaction stemmed from not being able to represent my true identity. I fell “between styles”: alternative but not alternative enough; fetish but not in a typical sense. I also disliked photographers telling me how I should look, pose, behave; telling me no to red lips, no to precious lingerie and all the things I loved.’

In 2017, she decided to go her own way. She saw photography as an opportunity to be her own creative director, to follow her own storylines, and to explore her own vision of sensuality, eroticism and fetish. She bought a Polaroid camera to experiment with and loved it immediately: ‘It gave me a whole new experience. The sound of the camera “taking” the image. The smell of the chemicals, which are so strong and specific to Polaroid. And the end result – the way the images roll out of the camera, unedited and pure. For me, technique is secondary to feeling. I think in colours, shadows and contrast. Polaroid is unstable, always unpredictable. It pushes you each time to be the best photographer you can be with varying degrees of success. As a creative, I do not believe in comfort. If you are not willing to submit yourself to discomfort and frustrations, you will never grow, or create interesting work.’