from beRlin with love. IN CONVERSATION WITH KINK PHOTOGRAPHER The berlin CHAMELEON
READ: 6 MIN.WORDS: MATT FORDKink, latex, 35mm and lots of fucking: could be one way to describe the Berlin Chameleon's work. But scratch beneath the surface and immerse yourself in his world and you begin to realise his photography captures an intimate, tender and deeply personal side of kink often missed by the genre's contemporaries.
The BERLIN CHAMELEON and I first met as we INSTALLED the VOUYER2 Exhibition at my studio back in decemBer 2025. His dedication to laying out his work on the walls became as meditative as the work itself.
The simple idea of prints taped to a wall, no frames, but arranged in a spiralling train of thought across his section. Some images went so high on the four metre high wall you could barely see them, but this arrangement, where every turn of your eye discovered another moment, ultimately captured Berlin's organic and SEEMINGLY spontaneous approach to photography.
five months later, I've managed to catch up with THE Berlin CHAMELEON, now he is back in the UK and we got the chance to have this conversation:
How long have you operated as the Berlin Chameleon?
Oh, "the Berlin Chameleon" was born 3 years ago, even though I had been pregnant with the idea of creating a persona for my kink-related photography for much longer. But like many fruits, they take their time before they're perfectly ripe.
How long had you been in the kink world before you started to photograph it?
Well, that depends on how you define "being in the kink world." I felt drawn to that world from my early teenage years, developing and discovering my own sexuality in curious ways, actually quite unashamed. A whole different topic, though, was finding the courage to start living all of this out with others too, including connecting with like-minded people from "the scene." I think that took me my entire twenties. And I had actually been photographing intimate encounters in my own life for quite a while before starting to also document the kink lives of others.
Was the work always intended to be out in the world? As it feels so personal it could be from a private collection?
Ha, that's interesting that you ask this. Because, as I said, for many years I had been photographing a lot in my own life without knowing that one day the time would come to start showing some of these works in publications and exhibitions. Thinking about this, I believe I'm trying to keep that vibe in all of my work now, a kind of personal, vulnerable, and human gaze. It doesn't always work, but I try to create settings where the people I document can really feel safe and also proud of themselves, their bodies, and their kinks. By the way, I'd still love to document a much larger variety of people, but speaking of the "kink world" on Instagram, for example, I feel it's crazy how heteronormative it still is. Also, when it comes to aesthetics, I think with my photography I'm trying to create new images that communicate how enriching and mind-opening it can be to be open, playful, and to allow yourself to surprise yourself and others.
How do you keep the Berlin Chameleon separate from your other work as a photographer?
I have to admit that I'm a bit ambivalent about my two personas, haha. On the one hand, I love the playfulness of allowing yourself to be more than one, it even feels like a fun role-play. On the other hand, I've never been a fan of boxes or of limiting myself to one genre. So I would never see myself as a "kink or fetish photographer." I'm convinced that the common thread in my work is rather a certain way of looking curiously at the world and inviting the viewer to do the same. I'm trying to practice looking without fear. And that applies whether there are kink-related moments in front of my lens or anything else. So my non-kink-related work, from portraiture to documentary, is also part of my artistic self and journey. It all influences and enriches each other. The Berlin Chameleon has, however, been a fantastic way to connect with kinksters from all over the world, and that's a big part of what I love so much about the kink world. It can feel incredibly supportive and full of solidarity.
You were one of the eight contributors to Voyeur 2 at Matt Ford Studio. What did you think of the other photographers? Any stand-out work, and why?
I loved your selection and curation of all of them! I really liked Joaquin Bielsa's calm and intense black-and-white portraits for their sculptural qualities. And of course, I also have a natural affinity for other documentary approaches, like Matt Skully's instant photographs of intimate encounters, for their directness. I just love Polaroids for being objects that have literally been a physical part of the photographed scene. And Miss Gold's work feels so raw and inspiringly unapologetic.
Are there any other personal projects you have that are non-kink related?
Oh yes, I've just returned from Raja Ampat, where I did a lot of diving and underwater photography. Not kink-related, even though I sometimes feel that observing nature in all its beauty and sensual qualities can be quite stimulating and inspiring, also in terms of thinking about kink. For me, the broader term of kink definitely includes finding beauty in all sorts of sensual impressions. So I think watching and photographing a cuttlefish for 15 minutes, observing the magic of it changing its colours and how it hovers mid-water, or watching the slow movements of huge sea fans and how the light falls through them, can somehow be similar to watching someone's reactions in full bondage while being teased with latex gloves. In the end, it's all about paying close attention and being completely present, and I think this can be practised in many different moments of life.
The girl with the melon is one of my favourite photos of yours, in fact any kink photo. As it's clearly about kink, but doesn't feel the need to gratuitously show it. Can you tell me about how that photo came to be?
Aw, thank you, really glad to hear that! That's a good example of what can happen when it works to simply establish a safe space as a stage on which a situation can unfold.
It was a sunny afternoon at a friend's place in Neukölln in Berlin, and we had already been taking pictures of my friend and Alex. We started with some portraits, and suddenly the shoot became more playful, and I just documented the intimate encounter that began to unfold. A short lunch break in between in the kitchen was the moment this photograph was captured. I think I'm trying to create the conditions for these moments to happen, and when they do, it's very fortunate.
Tell me about one of your favourite photos of yours and why. How did that come about?
Phew, I don't think there are any single favourite photos I could name right now. Over the past years, I've shifted my focus from working in series to seeing my practice more as building an archive of images that try to capture kink, and the world, the way I experience it. If an image makes you say, "Ah, I know how that feels, how that smells, how that sounds," then it works in my eyes. Actually, I also really like the other photographs from that day you were just asking about, with Alex eating the watermelon.
What is Berlin like to live and socialise in compared to other cities like London? Has it changed since you have lived there?
I've been living in Berlin for 9 years now, and despite so many people ranting about it, I still love it as much as I did on my first day. I had been longing to live in Berlin since I was a teenager, around the same time I discovered my kink side. To me, Berlin as a city is somehow deeply connected to my personal journey of allowing that side of myself to bloom. Like London, it's undergoing similar changes, becoming more hyper-commercialised and capitalistic, something you can also see in the commodification of the kink world itself. But at the same time, I feel that many people are craving more real-life encounters, less time in front of screens, and more human, creative, and kinky exchange.
FROM BERLIN WITH LOVE X