Elspeth Diederix is 39 years old and looking forward to 40.

MOSSLESS: I really liked your Supernatural series. Are you a believer in the supernatural and/or superstitions yourself?
ELSPETH DIEDERIX: I am not superstitious, but I do believe in a ‘supernatural’ kind of energy. Vague, but I do feel that there is something more than what you see. In my early work I would try to visualize this unseen energy in the photographs like ‘Portrait of my father 1996’, ‘Kubus mist 1998’ or ‘Family portrait 1998’.

ML: In your series Doride Ultramarina, you’ve experimented with taking images of objects under water. Where did the idea for this come from and how did you go about photographing these objects?
ED: When I started diving I was completely fascinated by this whole new world underwater. A world in which you become more aware of color. Colors slowly disappear the deeper you go, first the reds are gone and when you use a flashlight suddenly the most dreary brown looking objects become bright red!

Underwater the color blue is a physical experience. When you jump off a boat in the blue water which is not near a reef you could turn 360 degrees and not see anything but the color blue. You are swimming in a color.

I have always been photographing everyday objects which are somehow almost invisible to you because they surround you all the time. I want to photograph them and show them to you in a different light. It was a natural move to take objects underwater. Water transforms. Transparent objects like plastic bottles and cups become almost invisible except for that tiny thin line that reflects the light and makes it look like a drawing (‘Transparent still life 2002’).

Photographing objects underwater can be quite challenging. They are all made while diving, mostly in the Red Sea. You have to figure out if the object is buoyant or sinks and accordingly you tie it to a weight or let it hang from a flotation device. If you just let the objects go, they float to the surface or sink or are taken away by the current. It is a bit of a puzzle. Every photograph is a little installation.

ML: Some of your earliest photography dates back to 1996. Where you interested in photography before then?
ED: I started with painting at the art academy and then in later years I made small objects and installations which I would photograph. Then I discovered that with photography I get to do everything; paint, make sculptures of any material, use every location that seems interesting. I was not tied down to a studio and paintbrushes. All I needed was a camera and I could go around the world and make works wherever I was. I felt that there was so much freedom in photography. But starting out with painting has influenced the way I photograph. I sketch first, I photograph, then I redo it maybe because I need a better location or a different color. Like a painting my photographs are made up layer by layer.

ML: What is it like in Holland this time of year?
ED: Lovely. I have a studio with a big garden and it is lush and green and full of flowers. Some days are rainy but have a tropical warmth. Today it is fresh and sunny. As soon as the sun shines everyone is out soaking up each little sun ray. The streets are all decorated with flags for the world cup. It is festive.