Oh, most hideous beauty. Oh, that unmistakable strength.
Fashion photography is filled with every imaginable image.
The ones I find most interesting are the ones that tread the line of
discomfort. They hint at something menacing, hidden or a feeling of unrest. This
of course isn’t just because it poses some sort of strange and perverted mind
but I believe it has something more to do with the industry these images comes
out of. This is the world of beauty, the world of the unreal, the world of
ever-present discord and strangeness that one can’t help but be attracted too.
My art practice for some time has looked at this delicate
balance between the grotesque and perfection and I find the longer I work with
that as my focus the more I am captured by these images that are so pervasive
in the fashion industry and in the pages of countless magazines. I can’t help
but wonder what do they do to us when we have are guard down. What do they say
about the men and women that find them captivating, and how are they mimicking
the world that creates them? The world of fashion is one that I am enamored with
but the love is always a little tainted with the knowledge that it is unkind. I
can’t help but think that beauty is an aid to hiding and it is this hiding that
drives so many to seek what remains unseen. I think the only thing to do with
this balancing act is just that, balance it. With every image of loveliness
never be afraid of one that suggests discomfort. It’s that fine line in between
where truth is, and what could be more perfect and beautiful than that?
- Megan
Image credits (from top left)
Steve Meisel
Unknown (found on tumblr)
Emmanuel Giraud (center)
Unknown (found on tumblr)
Unknown (found on tumblr)
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