Helmut Newton’s Dentist

Ten years ago, my girlfriend of the time, the German photographer Katja Rahlwes, gave me the number of her dentist, JACQUES VETTIER. She said he was a “bit tough,” but an excellent doctor. What I didn’t know was that Jacques had been HELMUT NEWTON’S DENTIST, and that he would become a friend. His office contains a unique mix of antiques, trophies from safaris (one of his passions), pictures of Helmut Newton (including a Newton self-portrait with him), post-surrealist paintings, fashion illustrations, and, of course, medical instruments. Jacques was the one who found the veritable prosthetic devices Newton often featured in his pictures of women. When I told him that I’d started taking pictures and wanted to shoot some in his office, he said, “Sure. But I want you to have naked girls in them. I may have a celebrity clientele, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.” photography by OLIVIER ZAHM