Jaša Müller’s pastel portraits of our biggest stars are personal, playful and imperfect

Everyone saw Jaša Müller’s incredible photo shoot for Paper Magazine with star Ayo Edibiri decked out in feathers, pastel chalk colours and living inside of an 1980’s Interview Magazine cover. But when the fashion and portrait photographer spoke to It’s Nice That, he shed some light on how he plays with images in a way that no-one else is currently doing.

Looking at the photos, you can’t help but wonder how exactly these pastel-core visuals are made. It almost appears like the way singers were stylised on record sleeves back in the 50’s, or Jennette Beckman’s punky cover for Outlandos d'Amour by The Police. Jaša’s process starts with the shoot itself with a minimal setup: a white background and a steady light. It’s off the stage where everything continues in the vein of digital and material manipulation. “I print almost every image I make and then work on them physically. I’m really interested in materials and what happens when a photograph becomes an object. I cut into prints, draw on them, or intervene in different ways. That physical stage is becoming more and more important in my process,” says Jaša.

Once he prints out the colour images, he rephotographs rather than rescanning – the photograph catches light and how that reflects on the subtle textures of the paper. Portraits have always been at the center of Jaša’s work, with the focus being the human face, it’s the ultimate playground for abstraction, splashes of colour, and “embracing little areas that don’t behave”. Jaša describes his practice as many things; personal, playful, never knowing where it will finish. Tactile, layered, accidental, imperfect. It’s exactly what we need more of when it comes to celebrity portraits, Jaša brings the surrealist colour and magnetic character that we see on screen or stage and brings it to the surface, making it undeniable. “Sometimes I add things I didn’t plan, sometimes I make mistakes and they become part of it, sometimes I just keep layering until it feels right,” says Jaša. “It’s everything I can do to make it feel alive and real. That part is what matters to me.”