Chivalry Towards Ladies, C-Print 33″x 30″, 2007
Swedish-born Chris Anthony combines a 4 x 5 camera, a scanner and Photoshop to create a haunting and disconcerting world where violence is forever lurking in the shadows. Although Anthony works primarily as commercial and music photographer, he made these eerily atmospheric portraits for a personal project. “This was part of a series of 27 images called Victims and Avengers,” says Anthony, “It deals with domestic violence and the repercussions for women and children who have been abused. It also relates to that moment when there is a final straw — when the victims take matters into their own hands.”
The Parker Palm Springs (Bethany) Clothing: Glaza MakeUp: Melanie Manson Hair: Boogie
Staff at American Photo state: Anthony’s photographs combine these themes with a painterly, 19th-century aesthetic. The 24×60-inch prints were shown at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, California, in early 2007; another individual show will run there from January 26 through February 16. His work has earned critical accolades, including a 2007 Lucie Award nomination. Anthony shot these images in 4×5 but says that scans were digitally stitched together as composites before they were output on an Epson Stylus Pro 7800 inkjet printer. “The compositing came out of necessity, because sometimes I would have the set in one place and the actors in the other,” Anthony explains. “Most of the models are actually film actors I know here in Los Angeles.”
A former film and video director, Anthony has shot commercial work for clients including Sony PlayStation 3 and the bands My Chemical Romance and Modest Mouse. He sometimes uses a Mamiya medium-format camera with a digital back, but he prefers to work in large format on film. “I love the slow, methodical approach,” he says. “I’ve been buying really old lenses — like from the turn of the century — and using them with my 5×7 and 8×10 cameras. Everything old is new again.”
More of Chris Anthony’s beautiful, macabre and thought-provoking series of photographs can be seen after the jump. more…
