Emma Summerton honed her skills in the world of fashion photography. She admires the works of Sarah Moon and Paolo Roversi, published in Vogue ItaliaShe would later work for the magazine, as well as for many other prestigious publications. The beauty of her images, however, lies in much more than just the beauty of her subjects. The variety of her photographic repertoire encompasses still life, narrative, and fashion. It is in the comparative observation of her fine art work and her fashion photographs that the spark of a creation flirting with mystery emerges.
The photographer, originally from Australia, now lives in London where she enjoys a successful career. She shot her first editorial using Polaroid film, a technique she hasn't abandoned. This is how Polaroid film found its way into her latest series. MessagesThis work with analog materials may explain the artist's attraction to contrasts and textures in his photographs.
From one medium to another, the distinctive identity of her images stems in part from the vibrancy of the colors and her characteristic way of embracing light and playing with its shimmering effects. In her work, bodies and subjects are recomposed. The photographer also adopts a sometimes surprising perspective, as in her series Hydrawhere her point of view merges with that of the model. She explains that she seeks to get to know her models before any shoot in order to integrate their personality into her work. This is undoubtedly how the vibrations of the bodies manage to intersect with those of light on the surface of the image.
Off-screen space, superimpositions, shimmering color palettes, and optical illusions reinforce or directly bring forth these mystical themes from the image, engaging in a dialogue with early 20th-century pictorialist photography.e century. They also offer an air of magic and mystery inherent to his inspiration. The title of his latest exhibition, "14 Spells (to save your life)", only confirms what one perceives.
A kind of enchantment of forms seems to be at the heart of his work, when bodies escape gravity or disappear under a veil, when flowers are displayed like UFOs in the night, when vernacular legends are a source of wisdom.
Ana Bordenave
England – London
