Artist Research

Brittany DeWester 

Brittany DeWester is one of the artists that I am going to respond to for my Idea One. I have chosen to use this artist because this collection of her work portrays a metaphorical image of fantasy. The photographer has portrayed the theme of 'Fairytales' in these photographs which is shown through the use of shadows. What Brittany DeWester has done is directed a model (herself) to dress up as a popular fairytale character and then created the shadow of a relating character. For example, the first photograph is of the character Alice in the storybook 'Alice in Wonderland' but the shadow is of the White Rabbit, who is also in the novel but is not the reality. This gives the visual message to the viewer that the girl is not happy with her reality and wants to be in the fantasy, which is predominately shown through the expression on the model's face,which is melanchonic.

Teun Hocks

A second artist that I am going to incorporate is Teun Hocks, an artist from The Netherlands, who, along with Brittany DeWester also uses the concept of shadows. This photograph is considerably older than DeWester's image, so it can be argued that this was her inspiration as a photographer. Hocks' image has a more mature theme than DeWester as both are playful but Teun Hocks has a deeper meaning behind his work. For instance, these two photographs depict the reality of the man via the shadow, which shows that people are not at all what they seem.

  Jennifer Zwick

Finally, I will be responding to Jennifer Zwick, whose photographs represent childhood dreams and fantasies. Her constructed-narratives are meant to symbolise short stories, which focuses on young girls in a troubled world. Jennifer's inspiration was from her own childhood fantasies and memories, which she then constructed into a life-sized environment. She has used the girls as metaphors for not only her own childhood self but for the viewers also.