EDITORS’ PICK
Flesh and Souls
THE HUMAN BODY
The Human Body Editors’ Pick
Following Pixy Liao’s selection of winning images for our recent The Human Body competition, this compilation of 20 images represents some of the other talented photographers whose work struck us and left a mark. Each a stunning image worthy of exposure and attention…
When selecting for editor’s picks we’re always searching for those striking photographs that make for an unforgettable single image, whether from a broader series or not. We enjoy the accompanying text some photographers submit with their images, and while not always necessary it can be relevant when understanding the work in full context.
These are intended to be a conversation starter… so feel free to join the discussion on our social networks.
BANNER COURTESY OF JULIEN DUMAS
www.julien-calvin.fr / @j.c.dumas
“Human beings are flesh and souls. The ambiguity of those two parts, the frontier and communications between body and soul, always triggered curiosity and fascination in me. My work is an attempt to reflect how I perceive that duality. This is my way of looking deep inside the flesh by illuminating it, by playing with the reflections of light on its envelope. This image aims to tell how hard a body is of a cover. It is in the expression of the model a way to say that inside that flesh, something hurts.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF RONA BAR AND OFEK AVSHALOM
www.thefotometro.com / @fotometro.art
“From the series Us. Roy and Josef with their daughter Jude.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF EBONY ALLEN-ANKINS
www.ebonyallenankinsphotography.com / @ebonyallenankinsphotography
IMAGE COURTESY OF KAZUAKI KOYAMA
www.wajun-kaz.com / @wajun_desu
IMAGE COURTESY OF JALAL ABUTHINA
@lazyretina
“From the series Scanning Myself for Impurities. An experiment in self-portraiture (of sorts) shot during the lockdown period in 2020. The series was inspired by a combination of factors resulting from the pandemic that include; health paranoia, inoculation/vaccination obsession and heightened social surveillance/monitoring. All images were shot in my apartment bedroom using broken window blinds for lighting.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF MORGANE GIELEN
www.morganegielen.com / @morganegielen
“From the series No Babes. This series questions taboos and beauty ideals, giving a platform to those who are often kept silent in this society.
Stella: “At the age of 6, I was diagnosed with acute leukemia. I underwent a stem cell transplant and multiple chemotherapy sessions. I was declared cured, but I could not enjoy her second life for too long. Then, in 2019, I was diagnosed with another very aggressive form of bone cancer with metastases, which I managed to get rid of through chemo radiation for now. Because of the leukemia, I lived in isolation for over a year. I like it that people experienced during covid what I have experienced my entire life. Isolation.””
IMAGE COURTESY OF TIAGO AGUIAR
www.tiagoaguiart.com / @aguiart.visuals
“Solitude is a 35mm shot enhancing the male femininity. It is, somehow, an interpretation of the statement the LGBTQ+ community has been threading the last years. There’s so much to do still; a veil to undress. A thin cape that is still yet to be lifted. But there is light. And there is something forming beneath it.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF ALEJANDRA QUINTERO SINISTERRA
www.alejandraquintero.net / @alequint
“From the series The Dance Went Home. In unusual and almost impossible postures and in even more unlikely places in their homes some of the most talented dancers from the prestigious Bogota Capital Dance school of ballet and modern dance, posed for my camera. With the assistance of his director, teacher and choreographer, Jaime Otalora, we did this project during the strict confinement we suffered a due to the pandemic. An affirmation of the perseverance and dignity of art in the face of adversity.
“That day the weather was a bit dark and cloudy. It was cold. The session took me by surprise but it was very exciting to do it because of the trust generated by the work team, because it motivated me a lot to do things the best way possible. I remember that I felt that I have to warm up a lot to make any movement and that day in particular I think it was the motivation, I felt my body quite willing, quite free. And it was very nice to feel myself there, on the roof defying gravity with strength and concentration. I was held approximately 30 seconds!” Paula Suarez, dancer.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF FX PELISSIER
www.fxpelissier.com / @fxpelissier
“From the series icon. I seek to present portraits of women in all the beauty and power of their ethnicity. I try to reveal the expression of the strength and elegance of my models by representing them through a geometric dimension, almost frozen, timeless in a refined and contrasted universe.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF MICHA WARREN
www.michawarren.com / @michawarrenphotography
“Mutsuku is a dancer and model in Japan using her hair as a capital making a living.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF YI HSUAN LAI
www.flaneurshan.com / @flaneur_shan
“Seven Hands Playground. The hand with clay presented on the screen seems to interact with the hands in the actual scene in photographic space. This work was inspired by people’s communication virtually while pandemic happened.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF MAYA KA
“Where the skin ends the world begins.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF ALIZE YACCINO
www.alizejireh.com / @alizejireh
“An exploration of the harmony and connection we find when intertwining our bodies with nature and with each other.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF KINGA ZGIRSKA
www.king-plus-a.com / @like_a_king__plus_a
“Blooming.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF COLBY R SADEGHI
www.colbysadeghi.com / @colbysadeghi
“Jonas With Bandage – 5″ x 7″ Tintype.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF MIKE STINSON
www.mikestinson.co / @mikestinson
“I love the idea that something as recognized as human form can be presented as an entirely new shape. Something sculptural in essence.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF FRAN GOMEZ DE VILLABOA
www.franvillaboa.uk / @gomezdevillaboa
“From the series Public Matter. Public Matter is an unedited series of images representing some aspects of human behavior, society, and social injustice. I use various lighting techniques to isolate and abstract bodies as metaphors for mental health status and current issues. Some of which are fed by my experiences as a camp queer person raised in a Catholic and oppressive environment. As a part of a societal and digital age that’s addicted to validation, success, fame, and money, I see myself and my LGBTQ+ community falling into a cycle of additions to social media, drugs, sex, and so on, in an attempt to fill up the emptiness, loneliness, and frustrations many of us experience.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF KAROLIINA KASE
www.karoliinakase.com / @karoliinakase
“Before I photograph familiar people or places, an image of the subject comes to me. My process involves executing this vision as precisely as possible. After I have shot the image, I evaluate whether or not the photo is an accurate representation of my experience with the subject. The narrative I have derived from a kind of psychoanalysis of that person is either accurately represented or it is not. In this way I attempt to interpret my unconscious thoughts and behavioural patterns in my work, as well as to confirm or disprove my theories about people.
Often, my photographs lack a continuous narrative. I frequently photograph absurd situations or work in foreign environments, meaning that I rely on the viewer’s recognition of the impermanence of being to lessen individual self-imposed significance. I connect my subjects with their surroundings through composition, seeking to create a contrast with the solitary nature of consciousness. I focus on symbolism and the momentary silence between the subject and the camera. When I shoot people, I give them formal directions which betray the nuances of their body language. In their faces, I search for humanity and sincere emotion, attempting to elicit empathy in the viewer.”
