We met Amy Hood a couple years ago because of the amazing zines she was putting out. And since then she’s grown into making so much more. With her latest zine Cult Classic coming out at the end of last year, her first solo art show last November and another zine on the way, she somehow found time to direct and star in the new Afghan Whigs video. We had a quick chat with her to see how it all came together.

What was your involvement in this video?

AMY HOOD: I creatively conceived and directed the video and at the war-hearted insistence of Greg Dulli and my producer Avtar, I also starred in the piece.

What was it like to direct and star in the piece?

Tricky, it’s doing a lot simultaneously and also a little painful in the editing room having to see and hear oneself so much, but I’m very happy with the way it turned out!

Did you pitch them on the cult idea or did they come to you with that knowing it’s one of your specialties?

Greg had reached out to me a few months after the discovery of my work and first book CULT CLASSIC. He called me, really seeing the potential of using the concept for the video of his new release Oriole, an idea I had wanted to do previously so it was the perfect collaborative opportunity to expand exploration within the cult realm and to give a sexy narrative to the song. So I sent him a pitch that was a darker variation which better matched his witches lyrics and he was enthusiastic about it and supportive of the details throughout. Et voila!

Why does so much of your work revolve around cult themes?

I think my work explores a number of different psychological concepts, but I’m a person with a lot of darkness so my work trends to revolve around the darker realms thematically.

What’s next? You always have several tricks up your sleeve, what should we keep our eye out for?

Well I really love directing and am hoping to do more of that, and have some publishing plans for awhile. There are lots of cool ideas floating around this noggin. Also my new book VISCERAL is now available for preorder, A Compendium of Photographic and Literary Explorations Delving into the Dark Side of Love, Lust and Infatuation, which I find to be a very relatable topic on the human level. Go snag a copy!

Check out her What Youth Artist Series below. And visit her website Viscous Publications here.

Here’s a peek at some behind the scenes imagery from the shoot. PHOTOS: Avtar Khalsa