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"As a former illustrator and graphic artist I´ve always seen everything around me within a frame. Interesting faces surround us on a daily basis. Everywhere we look there´s someone with a countenance that fascinates or puzzles. I´ve found studying faces to be a very intimate way of uncovering the hidden side of an individual. When my subject is in front of the camera I encourage them to connect with me in a more unguarded way than they might normally.

With celebrities or politicians my goal is always to show the viewer a side that is unknown. Famous faces are not always as familiar to us as we think they are. Everyone has a secret. I try to discover it." Romney Müller-Westernhagen

Romney´s one-woman show "Beyond Faces" at Camera Work Berlin in 2012 presented her large body of powerful portraits. Steidl is now releasing, in book form, a new selection of these portraits, taken between 2010 and 2013. Individuals featured include: Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Iris Berben, Boris Becker, Wladimir Klitschko, Andrea Sawatzki and Jonathan Meese.

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Romney Müller-Westernhagen was born in New York. She began her career as a fashion illustrator and graphic artist in Milan, Italy. As one of the first African American models in Europe, she soon gained a reputation for her fluid elegance and personality on the runway, and began taking photographs to document her experiences and travels. During the last 25 years, Romney has traveled alongside her internationally acclaimed musician/actor husband throughout the world, photographing the characters and situations behind the scenes at recording sessions and backstage, as well as life on the road, all while refining her portraiture work. Her photos have appeared in German GQ, Der Spiegel, Rolling Stone, several album and CD artworks as well as various other publications.

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