It is difficult to describe the qualities which exactly define a muse. Interesting looks, enigmatic character? The result, of course, is inspiration; the ability to create works which may or may not include them, but of which they are the catalyst.
Over the last ten years, I have photographed just three boys I would call my muses. They are boys I have worked with on many occasions, and always over a period of several years. They are also all boys who have inspired me to create stories specifically for them.
Mateusz (above) was seventeen when I first began taking his picture. He wasn’t a model when we met (in a cult second-hand clothes store in Vienna), but did become one briefly, before embarking on his career as DJ. This was the end of the 90’s, and I had only just begun taking pictures again myself, and Mateusz made an appearance in almost every one of my stories. What made him a muse? I think it was his eyes. Not just because of their interesting form, but when he looked through the camera, you thought he held answers to all the mysteries of the world behind those eyes. He didn’t of course, but that’s the role of a muse I suppose; one wants the inspiration, not the reality.
© Anthony Gayton / www.anthonygayton.com
