PHOTOGRAPHY

FETISHTIC PHOTOGRAPHY

While delving into the topic of fetishism, I wanted to branch away from exploring physical mediums and play around with portraying a sense of fetish within photography.

i knew from the start that this was going to continue to have obstacles, as trying to find someone willing to undress and let me bind and chain them as well as photographing them would take time. However, luckily i have a friend who was willing to undergo a few strange set ups and ‘costumes’ for my art, with the repayment of a strong drink.

For the photo shoot, i stocked up on chains, bandages, elastic bands, padlocks and gaffer tape.When i arrived at her flat, i wasn’t a hundred percent sure that my ideas would be successful, but I’m the type of artist who needs trial and error to help my initial ideas evolve through primary research.

After the photographs were taken, i began editing them to make them more discreet by removing any colour from the image, as this seemed to remove any personality simultaneously. By cropping the images in a way that her facial features were minimal or non existent were done for her own personal privacy. In terms of artistic effect, i darkened the images to add a more sinister effect to the photographs, playing with the viewers interpretation of the situation i had placed her in.

Unknown, 2012.

I felt that these photographs were quite successful although i wasn’t completely sure what aspects i became intrigued by. However, i wanted to try and push them further, giving the viewer an overload of visionary at a first glance. I edited them on Photoshop, playing with their layers and opacity, editing the levels and brightness, which allowed me to produce a strong set of visual imagery depicting the formation of a sexual fetish.

UnKnown, 2012.