Interview: Model Rebecca Tun (UK)

Can you tell us a little about you? I'm a tree sprite with a dramatic body and a thousand faces. I originally trained as a philosopher but I dart around all over the UK and Europe providing the very important service of posing for pictures. If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be? I'd like to be happier. I've missed out on a lot of life and opportunities while being depressed. It's a big waste of time and I hope that I'll finish fixing myself eventually! How did you start modelling? I started posing for life drawing classes to earn a bit of money on the side while I was at university. That got me interested in art nude modelling more generally, and I joined some model photography websites. At the time it provided an escape from university. When I left I just carried on doing it and haven't looked back ever since. What do you think of the work as a model? I really like expressing people's ideas and feelings, while adding my own twist, by creating images together. Pictures are a way of communicating that escapes language and I find that liberating. What is your beauty regimen? I used to spend vast amounts of time painstakingly removing my body hair in various ways, which was actually a terrible thing to be doing, and my skin did not thank me one bit. Now that I'm in my 30s I've sorted my priorities. I take long baths, I moisturise my entire body while my servant wafts me with a feather (not really), and I blowdry my hair upside-down, which gives it volume while also improving oxygen flow to my brain. What are your personal qualities which distinguish you from others? I'm pretty open minded and can hold multiple opposing ideas in my head at the same time, and I value my ability to see the funny side of everything. What are your plans for the future? For a while I've dreamt of running a studio. It wouldn't have to be massive, just a space that I could make beautiful where I and others could create art. In any case I'm definitely going to be involved in image making one way or another for the rest of my life. My partner is a photographer so that makes me his muse. We keep each other busy! Several of the images I've included here are from our work together. What are some of your favorite experiences so far? My work has taken me to some truly amazing places. The sulphurous springs of Iceland, the intricate fjords of Norway, the sandy caves of Majorca, the sunny villas of France, the emerald coast of Sardinia, the sandstone mountains of Saxony, the abandoned asylums of Brandenburg, the endless beauty of the British countryside... Do you have any advice for those who want to start modelling? Make the most of what you've got: don't waste time trying to be something that you're not. Those are lyrics from a song that a photographer once played to me during a shoot. I think that simple piece of advice is so powerful. I think about it a lot. This is the advice that I would give my younger self and it's what I would say to anyone starting out in modelling and any other creative field. Because you're unique, you're irreplaceable. What do you think of the magazine? I think it's visually stunning. The images are diverse and exciting. I'm really thrilled to be a part of it.