EMMA BALFOUR
Words BARTOLOMEO CELESTINO
Time to read
5
Words BARTOLOMEO CELESTINO
Time to read
5
LOVEWANT HAS ALWAYS HAD A VERY A MESSY AND COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP WITH FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY. THAT IDEA MAY FEEL ALMOST COMMONPLACE NOW, BUT IN 2007 IT WASN’T. FASHION IMAGERY WAS STILL LARGELY BUILT AROUND POLISHED RETOUCHING, PRODUCTION, PERFECTION AND THE VERY OBVIOUS PERFORMANCE OF FASHION. WE WERE INTERESTED IN SOMETHING ELSE. PICTURES THAT FELT PRIVATE. IMPERFECT. ACCIDENTAL. THESE PICTURES OF EMMA BALFOUR ARE EXACTLY THAT. A HORSE, NINE INCH NAILS T-SHIRT, NO GLAM. NOTHING IS TRYING TOO HARD TO ANNOUNCE ITSELF AS FASHION. THAT WAS THE POINT.
WHAT WE WERE REALLY AFTER WERE PEOPLE WITH LAYERED INNER LIVES. NOT POLISHED CHARACTERS OR PERFECT SURFACES, BUT PEOPLE WHO FELT SLIGHTLY UNRESOLVED. EMOTIONAL. IMMEDIATE. CONTRADICTORY. HUMAN. THE INTEREST WAS IN WHAT LEAKED THROUGH THE IMAGE BEYOND THE CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED. THAT KIND OF LOOSENESS STILL FELT LIKE A POSITION. THE STRANGE CROPPING. THE MOVEMENT. THE FLASH. THE MOMENT BEFORE OR AFTER. DID THE CLOTHES MATTER? THE PERSON INSIDE THEM MATTERED MORE. NOW THAT LANGUAGE IS EVERYWHERE. WHAT ONCE FELT LIKE AN ANTI-FASHION GESTURE HAS BECOME PART OF FASHION’S MAINSTREAM VISUAL VOCABULARY. I DON'T CARE FOR AN AESTHETIC STRATEGY. I JUST WANTED TO SEE PEOPLE. A PERSON WAS HERE. THEY WORE THIS. THEY FELT LIKE THIS. SOMEONE HAPPENED TO TAKE A PICTURE. THIS WAS US.
WHAT WE WERE REALLY AFTER WERE PEOPLE WITH LAYERED INNER LIVES. NOT POLISHED CHARACTERS OR PERFECT SURFACES, BUT PEOPLE WHO FELT SLIGHTLY UNRESOLVED. EMOTIONAL. IMMEDIATE. CONTRADICTORY. HUMAN. THE INTEREST WAS IN WHAT LEAKED THROUGH THE IMAGE BEYOND THE CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED. THAT KIND OF LOOSENESS STILL FELT LIKE A POSITION. THE STRANGE CROPPING. THE MOVEMENT. THE FLASH. THE MOMENT BEFORE OR AFTER. DID THE CLOTHES MATTER? THE PERSON INSIDE THEM MATTERED MORE. NOW THAT LANGUAGE IS EVERYWHERE. WHAT ONCE FELT LIKE AN ANTI-FASHION GESTURE HAS BECOME PART OF FASHION’S MAINSTREAM VISUAL VOCABULARY. I DON'T CARE FOR AN AESTHETIC STRATEGY. I JUST WANTED TO SEE PEOPLE. A PERSON WAS HERE. THEY WORE THIS. THEY FELT LIKE THIS. SOMEONE HAPPENED TO TAKE A PICTURE. THIS WAS US.
Styling by Imogene Barron
Emma Balfour photographed by Bec Parsons
Styling by Imogene Barron
Emma Balfour photographed by Bec Parsons