On Intimacy: A GATA Interview with Lindsay Elizabeth Warner
Lindsay Elizabeth Warner’s photography lives in the space where intimacy meets atmosphere. Her images feel instinctive and diaristic, shaped by emotion rather than construction, and guided by a deep sensitivity to light, ritual, and presence.
A photographer whose work is deeply intertwined with her personal life, Usich also shares a longstanding creative partnership with her husband, Marilyn Manson, a relationship built on trust, collaboration, and mutual respect that naturally informs the way she approaches closeness and narrative behind the lens.
In this conversation for GATA Magazine, Lindsay reflects on love as a creative force, on the rituals that anchor her days, and on her attraction to quiet, unguarded moments. What emerges is a portrait of an artist drawn to stillness, tenderness, and the fragile beauty of everyday life.
GATA: You are the wife of the iconic Marilyn Manson, how has your creative relationship with Marilyn Manson influenced the way you approach atmosphere, narrative, or intimacy in your photography?
LINDSAY: My husband is my greatest muse and we approach how we work together collaboratively. I love him so when I shoot him, it’s with that love, admiration and respect behind the lens. He’s so supportive of all my creative visions and very good about laying on the floor while I cover him in flowers or hiking up a mountain with my twin sister to get the shot.
GATA: What does a perfect ordinary day look like for you when there are no cameras around?
LINDSAY: It begins with my husband bringing tea upstairs to me in bed in the morning and ends with us in bed watching a film in the evening covered in our cats.
GATA: Are you more of a morning person or a night person? What time of day do you feel most like yourself?
LINDSAY: I’m a mid morning person and an early evening person. Sometimes at dusk there is this intense perfect indigo that covers everything, a sort of cinematic winter blue… it is my favorite to witness.
GATA: What’s something Manson does that always makes you smile or laugh, even on a tough day?
LINDSAY: He has a lot of little nicknames for me, he is an excellent listener and equally as wonderful with communication, a very affectionate man who always makes me feel safe and supported as well as seen and loved.
GATA: Is there a small daily ritual you never skip, no matter where you are in the world?
LINDSAY: Self-care to me is very important, it sets the tone for the day and signifies the end of the night.
GATA: When you’re not working, how do you like to disappear for a while?
LINDSAY: Nature and the world within it is my reset button so I can be found at a blustery beach, inside a forest, near a waterfall, by a lake during my down time.
GATA: If you could freeze one moment from your shared life for eternity: what would it be and why?
LINDSAY: I would freeze the early morning silence when the light is soft and he is beside me before the noise of the world intrudes. That stillness is something I always look forward to.
GATA: Which is your favorite parfume?
LINDSAY: Right now it’s between Sellier by Byredo and 1900 l’Heure de Proust by Les Bains Guerbois. The first is an air of leathery smoke and the second is fruity, floral fragrance. Sometimes I wear both at the same time, one on skin and the other on my clothing!
GATA: What inspires you outside of photography?
LINDSAY: I really enjoy visiting non-contemporary art museums in the cities around the world I end up in on tour. Seeing paintings from the 17th century in person is incredibly humbling and inspiring. Surrealist poetry, old Hollywood autobiographies, antique shops, or just walking around and looking at architecture is very compelling to me. I like to get lost a little.
GATA: At this moment in your life, what kind of stories do you feel most drawn to tell through photography?
LINDSAY: I'm most drawn to quiet, unguarded fragments of real life-these small moments that are like pages torn from my private diary.
All photos by Lindsay Elizabeth Warner
Interview by Clarissa Victoria Colombo