Plastic Fantastics – Brian Walker
Plastic Fantastics
My work is a satirical reaction to everyday fashion magazines. I have friends involved in retouching images for magazines and they tell me about being instructed to; for instance, remove the creases from a models elbow joint, which I think is hilarious. I am responding to the plasticization of such figures, not in a critical way, though more playfully in reaction to this synthetic phenomenon. The images also make reference to various icons, with the people in the images being more like popular culture objects than humans.
Brian Walker
Brian walker is a contemporary digital artist whose images explore and exploit the realm between fantasy and reality, recreating scenes that meld illustration and fashion with an element of surprise.
After studying Visual Arts at UWS Nepean for two years, he transferred to the Visual Communications degrees at UWS Macarthur. There he further focused on photography and was introduced to design and various creative concepts. Since then, Walker has worked in web design, advertising, concept art and more recently teaching visual arts and design at a high school.
Stemming from a passion for illustration to depict his ideas and concepts of surrealist landscapes and characters, Walker first began using photography as a tool to represent these ideas of the impossible within the believable context of photography. The discovery of Photoshop completely revolutionised Walkers work, enabling a progression that continues today of seamless illustration between reality and make believe.
Walker recently had his first solo exhibition at blank_space gallery in Surry Hills where his work was well received.
Email: walkercbrian@hotmail.com
Through The Viewfinder – Paul Pennel
Through The Viewfinder
A Kodak Duaflex Twin Lens “bottom camera” acts as the viewing vessel for the images, this is pointed at the subject, the “contraption” a cardboard tube used for blocking stray light is placed over the viewing screen of the Duaflex and the Canon 20D “top camera” which holds a 50mm lens and a +4 close-up filter is aimed down through the “contraption” at the screen of the bottom camera – it’s the screen of the “bottom camera” that is captured with the 20D “top camera”.
The best thing about shooting this way is the inherent grunge factor, dust specks; edges of the images are rounded off due to the fact that the screen edges are this shape and shallow depth of field from the close-up filter. There is an element of Photoshop work done to the images, nothing altering only colour treatment, contrast and saturation.
Paul Pennel
After receiving his first camera at the age of 9, Paul has been passionate about photography. Later in life, he decided to take up photography as a full time career and completed the Photographic Certificate II course at Ultimo TAFE, Sydney in 2003. Paul then worked for Australian Associated Press for 5 years in the image department, and took on the occasional photographic press job for the same company.
In 2004 a move to Wollongong and working in a local camera store brought him the opportunity to work as an assistant to a full time photographer, he used his knowledge and skills in many aspects within studio and location work for some of the top selling magazines within Australia.
After 12 months of assisting, Paul decided that it was time to venture out on his own, and has taken more of an artistic approach to photography. He is currently selling his work at local markets.
Email: pennell@supernerd.com.au
