Light on matter
My interest lies between the polar opposites of fashion photography and painted portraiture; where I combine the disposable with the permanent. Borrowing from a tradition of carefully constructed studio conditions, I too control the sitter’s environment, costume and lighting. During each photo shoot I take more than a hundred photographs, once edited they underpin the development of painting. All of the models are people that I know well. Directed and altered by projecting light through coloured theatrical gels, unexpected personalities manifest themselves. The success of the work depends upon how effectively they have been transformed. I am always amazed how the lens can distort the truth about the sitter and offer a new persona.
The physical and emotive sensations created by reflected coloured light on the body has become the focus of the work. I am fascinated by the interplay between local colour and reflected light, how saturated colour can alter, flatten and create the illusion of formlessness. Skin appears to soften into smooth artificial planes, creating a mask like veneer: hiding the truth beneath.
Jane Frederick April 2007
