29.03.12 Kokoro The Art of Horiyoshi iii

On the second day of our adventure around London me and Alex (my partner) went to see the exhibit 'The Art of Horiyoshi iii'. Wanting to see more art while in London I figured Alex wouldn't put up too much of a fight about seeing a tattoo artists work and I was completely amazed. Kokoro means 'heart' in Japanese; it is the 'feeling', the 'inner meaning' that underpins the Japanese approach not only to art, but to Japanese life as a whole. Each silk painting is like a Japanese fairytale with its own little moral story.

Internationally renowned tattoo artist Horiyoshi III is a great supporter of traditional Japanese culture, history and craftsmanship but yet he embraced the modern western world, observed it, understood it and changed his art, evolving but keeping it Japanese; this is ultimately the power and essence of Kokoro. It is a spirit that knows no time or physical limits.

28.03.12 All About Eve - Art Sensus

On an explorative trip to London, I managed to drag my partner around the Eve Arnold memorial exhibition at Art Sensus. As much as he resisted I think he enjoyed the work just as much as me, which truly shows how fantastic Eve Arnolds work is that it can appeal to anyone. whether they are interested in photography and art or not so much! Art Sensus are presenting over 100 unique photographs curated by Brigitte Lardinois and in my opinion its work worth seeing. We spent a good hour just looking at her fantastic work including images from Arnold's personal archive.

I was happy to find not only the wonderful pictures of Marilyn Monroe and other Hollywood and west end stars but also portraits of important political figures, editorials and documentary/travel projects, which I found very interesting.

01.02.12 CIC2 The Residents of Primrose Lodge

These are a few of my final images for my most recent project.

 To see more of this series check out my website link (in blog post tite).

24.01.2012 Erik Wahlstrom - Stockholm Fashion Week Magazine

A while ago I came across this series made by Erik Wahlstrom for the Stockholm Fashion Week Magazine and found a lot of them very engaging. I feel some are a little samey! But I love the simple styling and natural feel to the images.

"The magazine wanted a full on animal shoot, with the theme taken very literally, but I steered the other way. I had the rather disturbing thought - what if all the animals where gone, what if young people only had learned about horses, dogs and foxes through text books and museums? I wanted to do a story about a gang of youngsters, dressed in urban city wear, but with abstract animal references thrown in. A bunny tattoo on the arm, a feather here, a fox tail attached to the cap, all as a shadow of what once was." 

 

The series was produced with a Mamiya 645 and a Contax G2 on Portra 400 film.

22.01.12 Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts: Classical Eye

Hidden Gems Revealed in the Box Files of the Celebrated Photographer

With an instinctive California-bred approach to light, expansive use of natural landscape and sculptural eye, Ritts set the tone for more than two decades of fashion, celebrity and art photography. “I think he had an extraordinary sense of classicism that you don’t often see,” says Ivan Shaw, Photography Director at American Vogue. “At the same time he brought a modernity to it.” With an upcoming exhibition of Ritts’s work at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the release of a new book, his continuing influence on a new generation of photographers is ensured. “People will remember his photography for his eye, his image, for his graphics,” says Charles Churchward, a close friend and former Design Director at Vogue. “It will come back in a strong way and be very influential.” To celebrate Ritts's work, NOWNESS culled the memories and reflections of his colleagues, friends and muses.

Richard Gere: His purpose was always to make you look good. He had an extremely elegant aesthetic. Some photographers are working so hard to be elegant that they pummel you with it, but to Herb it came effortlessly. Some photographers embalm their subjects, but he enlivened them.
 

Cindy Crawford: I think he photographs women the way they want to look… Herb would always get you naked. You knew that’s the way it went, you are going to look good.
 
Calvin Klein: His sense of light, outside or in the studio, is very strong and very graphic. When you turn a page and see one of his photographs, it’s aggressive. You stop.
 
Naomi Campbell: All of us experienced pain with Herb, but the pain was worth it. You want one of those photographs in your lifetime of modeling.
 

22.01.12 Francois Coquerel

Living and working in Paris, photographer Francois Coquerel has exhibited widely and has produced work for The New York Times, Spin, Wall Street Journal, Monocle, the BBC, Colors Magazine, and many more. Below is a small selection of his impressive portfolio - it's well worth taking a deeper look. 

 I wanted to re-post this as I've only recently discovered these beautifully emotional portraits. I especially like the averted gaze of the subjects, they are not quite engaging with the photographer and therefore make me wonder whether there is another person involved or whether they are just being thoughtful as the expression suggests.

16.12.11 Ryan McGinley at Alison Jacques Gallery

A great exhibition but unfortunately very few prints. The ones on display were fantastic and have so much visual impact in reality compared to in a book or on a computer screen. I'm so happy I got to see some of his work in London and will keep a look out for his work back in the UK again.