TOLAROIDS: A Photographic Silhouette

First posts are rather tricky: on one hand, we want to get started with creating, posting, sharing our ideas. On the other, there is this need for creating more personal space, finding a way to introduce ourselves without immediately diving into the specific artistic theme we chose to specialize in. What I decided to do then is to present myself through one of my favorite projects I’ve ever done, which is a synthesis of the two forms of art closest to my heart: visual arts (in this case photography) and performing arts (in this case dance).

My personal experience as a ballet dancer lead me to create a series of photographs that were meant to explore movement. I wanted to bring the viewer closer to various concepts of dancing, including the formation of a single pose that in the case of ballet “never stops” – instead, the dancer is always told to continue “extending” the pose before moving onto the next move. Usually, the whole dance choreography is an art piece of its own, and when taking a photo, we only capture a part of it. In my series, I was inspired by the way Shinichi Muryami tried to show dance. I used long exposure photographs to show the trace of each move, thus better capturing the art of dancing. I tried to catch the dynamism in a single photograph to show the viewer the process of forming a ballet pose and all the movement that comes with it.

The series had two working titles: “The Trapped Movement” and “The Captured Continuum”. I used a couple of variations of settings that are listed under the pictures as I experimented with exposure time and aperture.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Model: Magdalena Kawecka (Instagram @m.k_kawecka)

If you have any questions or thoughts make sure to leave them in the comments and I will be happy to share the answers! You can also catch me on Instagram: @akilian.jpg