Igor Mattio

Photography

Chronicles

Presence, No Compromise

I work with the body.Not to provoke, not to decorate, but to stay close to something honest. Today I had a conversation that quietly reminded me why this matters to me.A model told me he admired my work, but that full nudity wasn’t something he felt comfortable with. I respected that immediately. A body is

Safety as Aesthetic | Contemporary Photography, Form & Fear

Bored of Very Serious Photography? Nothing on your skin. When I look at much of the “in-vogue” contemporary photography, I don’t feel rejection. I feel boredom. A deep boredom—not born of any intolerance for the new, but from the oppressive sense of recognizing the same script over and over, performed in the same flat voice,

CUBA — Skin and Grace – Project Introduction

Skin and Grace – Episode IGazing Soft: The Macho and the Muse Project Introduction I arrived in Cuba to meet five professional dancers, drawn to a grace I had known only through screens and fleeting digital fragments. I wanted to photograph their bodies, of course, but above all to capture what remains when movement stops:

Archaeology of Future Ruins The Proto-Digital Proletariat

Archaeology of Future Ruins The Proto-Digital Proletariat Sometimes I think my models belong to a “proto-digital proletariat”: young men raised in a world where nudity is no longer taboo but currency, translated into tokens and likes on webcam platforms. A hyperconnected global underclass that has turned the body-image into its only capital in the ruthless

A Film? How the Idea Began

A Film? How the Idea Began The idea didn’t come from a storyboard or a pitch — it grew in the quiet spaces between photographs. The moments no one plans for. During shoots, I began noticing the in-between: the meals crowded around a table, the way a voice softened on the porch at dusk, the

What Does It Feel Like to Be Beautiful?

What Does It Feel To Be Beautiful Someone once asked me, half-joking, “Do beautiful people get turned on by their own reflection?” The question made me laugh—but it also made me think. As a photographer who’s spent years working with strikingly attractive men, I’ve seen firsthand how beauty operates in the wild. Yes, there’s confidence. Yes, there’s

Possession. Now He’s Mine (Only for the Shot!)

Possession. Now He’s Mine (Only for the Shot!) What happens in the silent space between model and lens. It comforts me, it infects me—this sudden, surgical attraction.Not for the man, but for the way the light fractures along his ribs when he exhales. For the way his pupils swallow the room when he realizes I’m

Naked or Nude? Chiaroscuro, Not Chippendales

Naked or Nude? Chiaroscuro, Not Chippendales Recently, I found myself in a familiar debate with the curator of my book—a man of sharp intellect and, as he readily confessed, old-school Southern propriety. I joked that his deep-South upbringing might explain his slightly puritanical take on nudity. His stance was firm: every nude image is inherently

AI Vs Real Connection

AI vs. Mosquito Massacre Recently, I exchanged a few comments about AI-generated images—after I tried (and failed) to recreate one myself. The attempt ended in disaster thanks to a gold-glitter malfunction. Think “wardrobe malfunction,” but artier—and messier. I was aiming for elegance, but instead ended up with something between a sparkly accident and a cautionary

Tell Me Lies: The Shot That Didn’t Work

Tell Me Lies I don’t call myself a photographer.I use a camera, but not to document reality. I’m after images that leave room for doubt.Not the obvious kind, but the kind that hides in plain sight:A shadow that could be sorrow or surrender,A gaze that suggests devotion—or deception. I want a picture to make you

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