EMMA DELVES-BROUGHTON: DEADLY

Did Emma always have ‘the next book’ in mind when shooting new work?

“I’m always happy when I have a project on the go,” she responds, “and I like to challenge myself. I was always determined to have a third book, and once I’d successfully self-published Curves on Blurb, I wanted to change things. I felt I had been shooting the same subject for a long time, so I had to think about what I enjoyed the most.”

Which brings us very neatly to the new direction of her Deadly project — begun in 2014 and eventually producing two books in 2021, followed by the exhibition in Bath scheduled to run until the end of this year.

With the ‘full-size’ Deadly book, it’s clear that Emma wanted to pull all the stops out and put her name to a volume that did not compromise on any aspect of production or materials quality.

With its £140 price tag it might not find its way into that many Christmas stockings, but it is surely a great advertisement for Emma’s work.

This prompts me to mention to her that the late, great Bob Carlos Clarke told me the books he put out (such as Obsession, The Dark Summer and Shooting Sex) were substantially financed by him and created primarily to get his work seen by ad agencies.

He explained that he never made any money directly from book sales, but that this wasn’t his primary objective. So I ask Emma if she had adopted a similar philosophy for Deadly.

“I love Bob’s book Shooting Sex and I’m lucky enough to have a signed copy,” she says. But then she agrees: “You don’t make money from books.

“I dread to think how much money I’ve spent on this project, not to mention time, but I’ve loved every minute of it — I’m born to be creative.

“If only a few people buy it, then that’s OK; they will buy it if they’re collectors, and if they really want it. I chose a really good quality paper for it, and the colours look great, so I’m pleased with it.”

She confesses, however, that she was surprised by The Fetishistas’ interest in the project, as there’s “no latex in it whatsoever”.

Hopefully my earlier observation thaher images chime with the ‘decorative gothic’ styling approach increasingly exhibited in recent high-end fetish work explains my interest.

“I didn’t make a plan not to shoot latex,” she avers. “I just enjoyed bodypainting so much, and focussing on the headgear.

“I did have a strong urge to be creative. I looked back at my earlier work and wanted to pick elements that I had enjoyed most for a brand new project. That meant big and crazy hair, strong make-up, plenty of false eyelashes and a love of styling.

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