WANT
Ducks printed on C-Type Matt
Today we look at Petra Stridfeldt’s bizarrely beautiful portraits from her project entitled ‘WANT’.
“The motivation behind my photography comes from that there is so much “out” there to be photographed. I know that it has been said that everything has already been photographed and that every subject matter already has been touched upon but I’m a huge believer that there is always a different and maybe a better way to capture these.
Kosa printed on C-Type Matt
“I have always been a keen photographer and I am driven by an urge of expressing myself in a visual and rather minimalistic way. Form and light are two other important elements that inspire me. My Swedish background has also probably influenced my way of photographing.
“My inspiration often comes from watching people, maybe not a specific person more society as a whole and its behaviour. I also find inspiration by looking at other artists’ work, especially artists that make witty artworks, such as Teun Hocks and René Magritte.
“These images are from my project ‘WANT’. The images represent society, as a collective identity shaped by our roles as consumers balanced against a backdrop of environmental concerns.
Cables printed on C-Type Matt
“My intention with these absurd portraits is not to lecture the viewers about environmental concerns, as this method of scaremongering has been done endless times and as a result, people don’t seem to take much notice any longer. Instead, my intention of creating these portraits is to catch the viewers’ attention with its ‘beauty’ long enough to awake a curiosity about the subject matter.
“The aim when working on these portraits was to allow the viewer to be thrown between a sort of admiration and guilt and conversely, allowing people to make their own interpretations on the work. All images are shot with Hasselblad 501 CM.
“The ‘WANT’ project will be developed further as the subject matter, which is today highly topical. I have many ideas of how this can be done and will initially make witty installations that will be large prints and different in style but will hopefully compliment the portraits in an interesting way.
Bandage printed on C-Type Matt
“Alongside this project I’m working on a project together with my husband that will be more in a documentary style. It is about a group of people in a rural part of Sweden.
“The images from the project ‘WANT’ have so far been exhibited in a group exhibition at LOOK11, in Liverpool and at Chinese Art Centre in Manchester. In October it will be in a group show during the Photomonth in London at Oxford House.”
If you WANT to see more from this series, visit stridfeldt.co.uk.
(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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A refreshing approach to the portrait, truly stunning work!