I first saw this photograph at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco this month. It is memorizing in person and has become a favorite. It is an illustration of unity. The subjects are the photographers. A wife and husband based in Beijing. Stemming from a culture where gender roles are traditionally unbalanced they have portrayed complete harmony in color, form, gender and as a couple. A beautiful yet complex concept delivered with such simplicity that it feels easily attainable. The image was created in 2008 is "Untitled, No. 25" by RongRong and Inri.
Squirrel Huntress
This is one of my favorite pictures of Foxy. She is unusually serious which works with the theme of the photograph but isn't reflective of her personality. Generally she is in constant motion, tongue out, huge smile looking for trouble. Here she is still, focused and patient. It's funny to think that despite her fun-loving personality she's still a huntress at heart.
Sweetly Ethereal "Preservation" by Blake Little
Much like delicate insects preserved in amber, treasures trapped in time, so are the subjects of Black Little's photographic series, "Preserved." Many gallons of honey were used to create the otherworldly effect. The images can be inspected in person at Kopeikin Gallery in Culver City , California, March 7 to April 18, 2015 where they are featured as part of Blake's solo exhibition.
Frieke Janssen's "Smoking Kids"
A couple of years ago a viral video made the social media rounds. It gained popularity on YouTube and suddenly could not be escaped. It featured an Indonesian toddler with a 40 cigarette per day habit. It was disturbing on many levels, primarily the contrast between his young age and the adult habit. Frieke Janssens also saw the video. She became intrigued by this contrast particularly since recent smoking bans have positioned smoking as a thing of the past. As most things of yesteryear it now has a romantic aura. The era of Jazz, of Lauren Bacall and Don Draper. Frieke has juxtaposed this glamorous and decidedly adult time with children. The fact that her work coincided with Belgium's implementation of smoking bans is just happenstance (she is Flemish). The series is not a statement on a government patronizing it's people. It's more a reflection of how smoking has lost its power and shock value due to these bans and returning some of that by contrasting it with the innocence of youth. The children were given chalk and cheese sticks, cigarettes were later added in digitally.
See more of her images below or visit her website at: http://frieke.com/#!/.
Deliciously Talented - The "Tutti Frutti" Series
At 16 years old, Cristina Otero is already demonstrated how talented and imaginative she is. The Spanish photographer drew inspiration from "America's Next Top Model" at the tender of age of 13 and has demonstrated her aptitude for creating beautifully edgy characters through makeup and styling. She has all the elements of a budding fashion photographer and is worth keeping track of. I'm sure her images will soon be gracing magazine stands in the very near future.
