Resurrection
It’s amazing to witness an artist who embraces one of their greatest limitations, turning it instead into one of their greatest advantages.
For Korean artist JeeYoung Lee the question was how to utilise her small studio space in Seoul measuring just 3.6m x 4.1m x 2.4m (11.8′ x 13.5′ x 7.8′). Instead of finding a new location or reverting to digital trickery, Lee challenged herself to build some of the most elaborate sets imaginable for the sake of making a single photograph.
London based photographer, Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz, has created a 12 month calendar inspired by retro calendars featuring 1940s pinup girls. Except the girls aren’t wearing clothes—they’re wearing milk! Very fast milk.
Frozen with high speed strobes, each image is layered from hundreds of photographs capturing splashes on real models using real milk. Inspired by iconic images from artists like Gil Elvgren, Wieczorkiewicz shoots up to 200 frames to complete an image. The frames are then layered in Photoshop and combined seamlessly to complete the dress.
Shanghai-based artist Maleonn (aka Ma Liang) has travelled around 25 Chinese provinces, photographing 200,000 people in a mobile photo studio.
It took him seven months to prepare for the project, which included painting the sets and backgrounds, preparing costumes, purchasing a truck, and arranging locations – and collecting old photographs, papers, posters, certificates, letters, receipts and notebooks for props.
Over a period of 10 months, in a battered truck and a minivan, Maleonn visited 35 cities in China, taking 1,600 portraits of people in fancy/fantasy dress.
He established a set of guidelines, such as a minimum of eight people per city who would provide him and his team with food, somewhere to stay and a space to work.
The subjects dressed either in clothes from Maleonn’s van or brought their own outfits. Subjects ranged from tank drivers and police officers to Tang dynasty scholars. People from all walks of life turned up to be photographed.
Maleonn launched the project after losing his studio in Shanghai’s Weihai Road 696 arts community, following a government eviction of artists, and getting divorced. Having completed the huge project in China, Maleonn suggested he might next be taking the roadshow to the UK. ‘I have friends in Swansea,’ he said.
Here are some more examples of Maleonn’s work which melds photography and theatre with remarkable results…
Check out the following behind-the-scenes video demonstrating how these amazing shots featuring model Elodie Blain surrounded by a serene cloud of flour were captured by photographer Thomas David…
How many poses do you think it takes to capture a magazine cover shot?
How about Coco Rocha‘s 19 poses in 30 seconds! Check out this video featuring the recent shoot by fashion photographer Tony Kim…
Not sure I’d have the energy to be a photographic model, even if I did look like Coco Rocha! What about you?
susie loves photography 