Exquisite can be one of the many words to describe this unique model... and she has many interesting things to say also!
Photos in this set by: Akasha Deville, Alan Cox, Chris Ayres, Ian McInnes, Monkeytwizzle, Anathema Rose, NoMethod, Hamish Scott-Brown
1) You seem to have quite a vivid imagination… how would you describe your own childhood?
My childhood was split between two very different countries. Half of my childhood I lived in Frankfurt, Germany, a very big multicultural city where everything goes. People from all over the world freely express themselves through different styles, music, etc. I grew up among various nationalities and cultures, and people from alternative scenes. I still remember the late punk movement, and people from the goth scene. When I was a child I loved the hairstyles, the dark make up, the outfits. It definitely influenced my own style when growing up. It was a place that fascinated me and played an important role in who I am. It developed my free-spirit side, and part of my dark side.
Later on in my childhood, I was taken away from that magic city to a town in Greece. I hated it! Lol I enjoyed being in Greece during the summer on holidays but living there was hellish. I was the outsider, the ‘freak’, the strange girl who no-one understood. Greece back then was very narrow-minded, people did not have the freedom to be who they wanted to be. They could not freely express themselves. I remember the stares I used to get just because I dressed differently. And then because I dyed my hair dark blue lol. There were no places to buy alternative outfits from so I used to make my own clothes. There were no piercing studios (you could only get your ears pierced)! So I ended up piercing my nose by myself with a needle. The looks I got for having a nose piercing were priceless! This sounds very unreal but that’s what Greece was like until not that long ago. It has developed in recent years, but I have not lived there in a long time! Even though there is a little alternative scene in the bigger cities in Greece now, things are still quite behind from other places in Europe. I still get lots of dirty looks when I go out in a latex outfit in Athens or even just because I wear chunky boots. Even though I hated living there for a few years, I do value the experience because it made me a fighter. It taught me that I have to fight for my beliefs, for being different. It made me stronger.... and more stubborn!
Overall, I would not change anything from my childhood experiences. I had very good times but I had lots of very bad times too. But that’s why I am the person I am today. I used to be a very imaginative and smart child. That put a lot of demands on me. I was always pushed to be the best in everything I did. I was not allowed to fail in anything. Maybe that’s what triggered my rebellious and dark side. I was mostly good in whatever I undertook, and that happened effortlessly. I remember being one of the best students in school but I was quite modest and never showed off. I used to help other students who were weak in certain subjects by helping them study. On the other hand, I was also a trouble maker in school. I used to skive a lot and spend nice sunny days in a park, cemetery or a bar rather than in class. But that is also a reason for why there were people who either loved me or hated me. I never went unnoticed. I was either loved or hated. I used to be a very busy child as well, with lots of energy. I used to dance a lot and choreograph routines. Used to learn languages, do gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics, used to take part in theatre plays, I used to sing, write lyrics, poems and short stories... I even used to organise theatre plays for my friends and make costumes for them lol I could go on and on about this lol I think you just dragged me down a trip to childhood memory lane here! Lol I better stop here before I go into more stories lol
2) What actually led you to the path of modeling, mainstream and alternative?
When I was a child, I pretended to be a model and pose for pictures. I remember my mum enjoyed taking pictures of me. It was a fun game! But I never really took it seriously and never wanted to make modeling a career. I was more interested in having a more ‘academic’ career, something I had to study for, something that I would use my brain for rather than my looks. So I kind of stumbled across modeling later on in life, after I had chosen a more ‘serious’ career path.
I was approached by a photographer in an alternative night club and asked whether I was a model. I just laughed and thought that it was a very bad chat up line. He gave me his card and asked me to get in touch if I ever wanted to try modeling. It took me 6 months to consider getting in touch with him after some of my friends convinced me to give it a try. I tried it and never looked back! Lol I love it and have been doing it for the last 5 or 6 years. I am more interested in alternative modeling rather than mainstream because there are less boundaries in alternative modeling. There is more scope for experimentation. I do some mainstream modeling now and again mainly because it pays, and that is put towards my expensive taste in alternative outfits and latex.
I love fetish modeling and creating pretty and sometimes surreal images. I love horror shoots as well. I enjoy the whole process of coming up with an idea, organising it and working with various people to achieve the final image. There are certain people I work with again and again because creating beautiful images is a partnership. You have to be able to channel your creativity into a certain project and communicate with a person that shares the same vision with you. Trust is very important in working with photographers, and the ability to build on an idea. I have a handful of photographers I love working with because we both put everything in our creations and we have worked together so many times that it feels effortless.
3) Tell us about your many academic studies… three university degrees?
What can I say, sometimes I can be a geek! Lol Yes, I have studied in university quite a lot. My first degree is a BSc in Psychology. Before that I tried studying Sociology in a university in Germany but knew that it was not for me. So I moved to a different country and went on to study psychology. After graduating I did an MSc, and after that I did another postgraduate qualification in university. I have also got several diplomas and certificates... Some of my friends make fun of me and say that I enjoy collecting certificates. I reply saying that I am just putting together a collection for a unique wallpaper! I really enjoy learning and there is always more knowledge to be acquired, you can never know enough! At some point I would like to do a PhD. Fingers crossed I will have the time and ability to do so.
4) Can you claim that there’s a thin line between your private life and your artistic activities? How much does Sou influence yourself in the “real” world?
Sou is the real world. My artistic activities are part of my private life. This is who I am. I always express different parts of myself through my artistic activities whether it is modeling or performing. I have so many different sides to my personality that people who know me always get surprised when they unveil parts of my personality they never knew before. But yes, what you see is what you get. This is who I am. Sometimes I am the femme fatale you see in some of my images, sometimes I am the sweet cute little girl that makes you want to hug, sometimes the bitch that could kill you with one look. It is all part of who I am. Sometimes I need to remind myself in the real world to be more conservative because some people find some of my interests shocking. It does not mean that I have to pretend to be somebody else, it just means that I am less provocative with some of my strange tastes or interests.
5) You worked with another of our Sirens, Akasha Deville, didn’t you? What can you tell us about this collaboration?
Sofia is a very talented photographer who I am very lucky to have worked with. She is full of ideas and open to experimenting. I loved working with Sofia because she was happy to try out different ideas and just go crazy. It was like being two little girls in a sweet shop being allowed to go crazy lol I even went to Portugal with her for a week and had a wonderful time shooting and chilling. (I have attached an image we did back then.) It is a shame we have lost touch in the last couple of years. But sometimes people cut themselves off from others for whatever reasons. Nonetheless, I wish her all the best of luck.
6) Is there a big fetish scene in Glasgow right now? Do you go to lots of events, there or elsewhere?
There is a fetish scene in Glasgow but not that big. I think that people tend to keep themselves to themselves in smaller scenes such as Glasgow. And there are not that many events in Scotland to be honest. There was a Torture Garden event in Edinburgh recently which was very popular. And the atmosphere was very friendly and relaxed. I think it was a very successful night and hope to have another one soon. I prefer going to events in London and do so very often. London has got a bigger scene and it is always more fun when there are more people who make an effort to have a good time. I go to Torture Garden in London very often and I also like trying out events all around Europe and always combine my travels with such events.
7) So how many languages can you actually master?
Well I am bilingual and grew up speaking Greek and German. I am fluent in English obviously! I learnt French in school for 6 years and am able to understand and communicate. I have been learning Japanese for 3 years. I can’t say that I have mastered it though since I am still struggling with reading and writing the 2 alphabets, Hiragana and Katakana, and also trying to learn some Kanji. And if dead languages count... then I also learnt ancient Greek and Latin in school but never had to use it lol
8) We adore your website which is incredibly elegant & beautiful, just like you in fact! What are your future plans for it (besides updating it, that is! LOL)?
Thank you so much! My website is a painful story. I have kind of abandoned it recently. And yes it desperately needs updating since I have not uploaded any new images in the last 2 years. First of all, I have been having problems with spamming on my forum and have given up with trying to sort that. On the other hand, to be honest I have not uploaded any new images in a long time not because I am lazy lol but because I cannot log into my admin area anymore. I have lost touch with the person who build the website for me (who did an amazing job) thus have not been able to gain access to it. I have kind of left it to its fate... I have not decided what I will do about it yet. I was toying with the idea of maybe creating a new one at some point as I had people offer to do that for me. I kind of love this website though and feel quite attached to it! Lol Even though it is a big pain in the ass!
9) What kind of live performances can we expect when we see Sou De Sade on a stage?
Sexy, cute and sometimes full of attitude lol I do enjoy performing. I used to do some burlesque performing but got a little bit bored of it and gave a different twist to my performances. I made them a little bit more aggressive, wild and fetishy. I enjoy being on stage whether it is for a routine or just stage dancing for a band or event. I am passionate about dancing and I love being able to create routines that tell a story. I prefer performing with a dance partner since it allows for more flexibility and makes a routine more interesting. I am looking for an appropriate dance partner at the moment to torment! I would also like to try and incorporate pole dancing into a performance at some point.
10) How are your pole dancing skills these days? :P
I love pole dancing! I have been doing it for 10 months now and would have never thought how demanding it can be. It requires a lot of strength! It is just unbelievable how many different muscles you have to use for it. At the moment I have progressed to the super-advanced level and learn some difficult moves. Pole dancing is not just swinging off a pole in your underwear trying to look sexy! It involves a lot of skill in gymnastics, muscle strength and sometimes even acrobatic skills. Yes you do have to be scantily clad only because there has to be skin contact with the pole in order to be able to do some moves. Pole dancing is an actual sport and there are championships. Try and see some of the stuff that Felix Cane, the championship winner from Australia, can do! It is unbelievable! Practising pole dancing is far from being sexy. I have been covered in bruises but sometimes practice can be hilarious too. I look forward to performing my pole dancing skills soon...
11) Is there still something that you haven’t done yet in the artistic field that you aim to accomplish in 2010?
I would just like to continue creating interesting images and work on some ideas that I have had for a while. I would also like to work on some darker fetish with a surreal twist ideas. Promoting some of my images is one of my goals in 2010 but the main one is to continue having fun in collaborating with interesting photographers. Also I would like to continue performing and develop more routines hopefully incorporating some pole dancing. If anyone has any other suggestions or challenges for 2010 I am open to hear them!
12) You mentioned your passion for traveling.. of course we’ll go all geeky here and ask when will you be able to visit us in Montreal? :D
I would love to visit Montreal! I have never visited Canada before but I have wanted to visit the Montreal Fetish Weekend for a while now. I have never had an invitation yet so once I get an invite I will be packing my bags! Hint hint! lol
