The Masons: A Photographic Duo Born of Love
Photographic duo, The Masons, move between luxury campaigns and art to present a matriarchal view on the world that we’ve been longing to see. Their portfolio is lovingly dedicated to the richness of Black skin and the tender connection between duos, representative of The Mason’s own romantic partnership of 13 years. Since starting their business in 2018, Donna-Marie and Maruska Mason have continually worked to diversify advertisement within the luxury sector by showing dynamic personalities, void of gendered and racial stereotypes. Through portraying elegant beauty and authenticity within portraiture, Donna-Marie and Maruska are as unified in their vision as they are in their partnership. Providing a rare and magical example of the wonder that can be created when women develop a professional career from a personal place.
Upon meeting The Masons on Reform The Funk’s set, their genuinely grounded, and open personalities create an instant feeling of familiar warmth. During their photoshoot, not an ounce of ego or power dynamic is felt between them. Instead, these two women bounce compliments back and forth, embodying a relationship full of mutual support and care. When looking at their back catalogue, it's clear how the love and respect Donna-Marie and Maruska have for each other extends to the projects and people they connect with. Models are shown, and treated, as people rather than clothes hangers allowing each image to tingle with sensations as limbs moving, fabrics flying and eye contact becomes mesmerising. With such attention to the beauty of skin and presenting gradients of flesh, we asked The Masons to take us back to the beginning of their journey to hear how it all began.
““We have a similar taste in terms of pure aesthetics, what we think is beautiful. That’s the core of us and we try not to compare ourselves to anything out there, instead, we focus on what we want to be showing and represent””
Besides the obvious synchronicity these two artists share, The Masons describe themselves as being like yin and yang; coming from completely different worlds that naturally entwined to compliment one another. Born in Tooting to a young single mum, Donna-Marie’s childhood was full of creative memories, “We always had fashion shoots in the lounge, my mum would dress us up, and take our pictures. But I watched her struggle and was determined to have a more fulfilled life where I could travel and meet people”. This led Donna-Marie to study photography at London College of Fashion before working in film and TV for over 10 years. Despite loving the way she could tell stories through styling and make up, Donna-Marie found the hierarchy on set and the atmosphere to be damaging. “In those spaces, you get the egos, you see extras being treated like nothing. I wanted to control my creative environments and believed that we could do this ourselves.” With this in mind, Donna-Marie was highly conscious of wanting to use her work to transform the way Black people are portrayed within the media. “As a child, not seeing myself represented on so many levels had a huge effect on me. I want my nieces and nephews, the younger kids, to live their life with certainty. To feel confident and beautiful and that they can achieve anything.
““My driving force is to show the beauty of black skin; that black people can be seen as elegant and beautiful, rather than in an urban style.” - Donna-Marie ”
For Maruska, her awareness of racial and gender disparities, and the dedication she shares for Donna-Marie’s vision started within a very different setting. Growing up as a young tomboy in Yugoslavia (now called Slovenia), Maruska’s memories were shaped by the socialist system that surrounded her. “There was no diversity. We had closed borders, everyone wore the same clothes and drove the same cars.” Despite this, Maruska’s parents instilled in her a respect for different cultures, “My mum had lived in Ghana for a while, and my dad travelled a lot around the world so their stories and the things they brought home meant my mind was open from a young age.” Having studied law, Maruska moved to the UK and, upon feeling the need to exercise her creativity, changed paths and quickly worked her way up in the advertisement industry. This career move gave Maruska the insight of how campaigns are conducted and financial decisions made. However, it wasn’t long before she was feeling unfulfilled.
““Donna Marie was my first proper model, she was my muse. I would shoot her all the time and found her skin so beautiful, rich and dark.” - Maruska ”
With the encouragement of Donna Marie, Maruska turned her attention to learning how to use a camera. With a smile on her face, she tells us how Donna-Marie was her first proper model, “She was my muse. I would shoot her all the time and I found her skin so beautiful, rich and dark. I’d play with that and study how I could show her skin through the lens as I see it in real life.” This desire to capture the true nature of Donna Marie’s appearance is what fuelled the direction of The Mason’s work. As a team, they work tirelessly to cast, direct and light models in a way that compliments all skin tones, from the darkest to the lightest. They explain how “We are very particular about skin and we don’t like to retouch models' photographs; instead we spend a lot of time getting the right light and angle, playing with rich textures.” This is something which Maruska expands on by explaining how “My love for, and understanding of, natural light comes from those years in Slovenia”. This has fed The Mason’s clean, dynamic style, boasting a collection of stunning images presenting figures set amidst rock formations and shores of the sea, breathing fresh air into their models' skin and movements.
““I personally don’t like the standard of beauty that I grew up around. We like to show men for their vulnerability, we like to show strength in women, and we like to mix masculinity with femininity.” - Maruska ”
Another renowned element of The Masons work has been their presentation of duos. Twins, pairs, and couples are shown in ways that move far beyond prescribed gender roles or heteronormative representations of love. Such work offers a deeply humane approach to connectivity that can be seen as a reflection of The Masons personal relationship. As Donna-Marie expresses “We love working with duos. Maybe it’s because we are a duo, I don’t know. But when you get two models who have this beautiful connection and you’re able to make them so relaxed and capture that... Because we want to show tenderness and the connection between people” The Masons vision to present this duality is tightly intune with the way they present as a couple. Proud to be known as romantic partners within their working life. Maruska explains that it’s important that people know they’re together due to the personal understanding between them. “A lot of times I don’t even have to explain things to Donna. That communication doesn’t need to happen [because] when you’re together with someone for 13 years, you're just very much in sync.” This is something that is beautifully obvious throughout our conversations as the pair naturally respond in tune with one another.
““We love working with duos, showing that connection between two people, maybe it’s because we are a duo” - Donna Marie ”
““I think it’s important that people know that [we’re together] because it’s a different understanding between us. When you’re together with someone for 13 years, you’re very much in sync” - Maruska ”
By embracing this shared synergy, The Masons lead by example when creating imagery that mirrors their passion for elegant, truthful storytelling. As Donna-Marie explains, “We shoot the model as a person and tell them to forget everything they’ve been told before. We talk with them, get to know them and build a connection because we want the person to feel special”. Maruska adds how “we bring that vibe to every shoot we do, the humane approach because what we want from our models are often things that haven’t been seen. Its awkward moves, showing different faces. We don’t want to see classic beauty.” She goes on to explain how they’ll often aim to revert the traits assigned to masculinity and femininity. “We would never say “be sexy” to the models, we say “be confident, be a queen or a king”, because we want them to feel regal, strong, graceful and elegant”. In doing so, The Masons are laying fundamental foundations for a healthier portrayal of gendered marketing, all through their own female gaze.
The end of our conversation with The Masons leads us into discussing the passion projects that these two artists develop alongside their work within the luxury sector. One such series was The Girl With A Pearl Earring, inspired by the 17th Century painting by Dutch artist Vermeer. These photographs are an example of the unique vision The Masons foster in their creativity, reinventing the white washed past and presenting stories that provide space for a diversity of faces to be shown in all their dynamic beauty. By joining together to challenge the norm, there is no doubt that these two women are proof of how a close relationship can fuel a successful, professional career. We watch in awe as The Masons drive forward their connected vision, recreating the identity of luxury, one sensitively created image at a time.
The Follow The Masons on Instagram @themasonsofficial
Credits: Photographed by Kim Lang / Interview by Derrick Kakembo & Bethany Burgoyne / Makeup: Yolanda Dohr Produced by Mariam Mugambwa / Words: Bethany Burgoyne
