From a strictly imagistic standpoint, Demaison approaches the process of photographic picture-making as an occasion for extraordinary formal invention. From a conceptual standpoint, she treats the photographic negative (and the resulting print) as a stage for the performance of an action invisible to the eye, often one of considerable duration by conventional standards.”

My favourite image of hers, is the top right. I really like this one, as the majority of the photograph, is lighter tones. But when the darker tones do appear, they really stand out. I want to try and focus a lot on tones and different ways of using lighting, to create an image that makes the viewer feel something emotionally, just through the tones. Ces dernières années, Laurence Demaison oriente ses recherches vers une démarche plasticienne, expose ses dessins et conçoit des sculptures dans un univers proche des séries photographiques qui l’ont fait connaitre. Elle s’autorise l’utilisation de mannequins comme modèles de ses photographies, ce qui lui permet de dépasser les limites de l’autoportrait et de concevoir des mises en scènes spectaculaires. Avec une maitrise totale du noir et blanc, de la prise de vue au tirage, la photographe joue avec les limites du medium comme dans ses monotypes, autoportraits directs au flash métamorphosés en épreuves uniques et lumineuses. Pour cette exposition, la photographe a sélectionné des travaux récents et des tirages de ce qu’elle appelle ses "petits parachutes", ébauches de séries ou prises de vues isolées dont elle a redécouvert les négatifs.Her work with self-portraits originated from her dislike of using models and that she could never get them to follow out her directions to her satisfaction. So she decided that it would be much easier to cut out the communication and use herself as the model so that she could achieve exactly what she intended. Demaison’s distortions are not simply a way to hide herself, but more a way for her to experiment with different techniques and to broaden our way of seeing.

I would like to explore creating more abstract images, through further experimentation, using the set of images I have just created in my final outcomes. I want to do this as I really want my project to emphasise on textures and tones and after looking at this set of images, I realise that they include these two themes repeatedly in each image. I believe the majority of my work below shows the extent of my improvement with image analysis etc so this is the only thing i will be adding on to. There are many things i love about the pieces i have displayed above, in this mini paragraph i am going to go into some detail about the techniques this artist uses and how and what techniques i am trying to have as inspiration and will attempt to use within my shoot. For example, I would want to use a wide range of expertise within my composition ranges and style to create differentiation, I would only slightly alter my angles and perspectives just like laurence does as it distorts the image enough without unusual camera perspectives. Just above i will be taking and using multiple photos so i can see if any happy accidents occur or to have a wide scope of images of all variety so i can further edit them which leads well to concluding images and for me to know what worked well and what became faliures. The title of this image is 'A Jewish giant at home with his parents', I think her attraction to this subject, was to focus on 'outsiders' and to focus on their abnormalities. I think Arbus takes a photograph to how the world is and just captures things in the moment, but with this image the body language of the parents and their positioning feels quite staged. This is why I dislike the image, I think Arbus purposefully photographed this way, so it wouldn't come across as though she was exploiting her subjects. Photographe autodidacte, Marc Sommer élabore ainsi depuis plusieurs années et sans la montrer jusqu’à présent, une oeuvre où les objets inventés côtoient les mises en scènes de personnages, souvent ses proches mis à contribution. Complètement inédit, ce travail étonnant décrit un univers paradoxal, d’une grande fantaisie mais à l’humour cruel et inattendu.Since the 1990s, the photographs of Laurence Demaison have gone beyond the genre of self-portrait to offer a deeply original vision that is at once multi-faceted and coherent. Although for many artists the representation of the self remains a sublime reflection of the author, here Demaison deforms her body and face, creating an otherness that conceals her true image. There’s a Surrealist touch to these series, which bear comic titles reminding the viewer that it’s all an invention. The representation of the body is the source of a long process of experimentation. Demaison draws on the technical possibilities of film, playing with exposure times, the focus, the contrast and the negative to create fascinating and singular images.

During the summer holidays I went up to Belford with a couple of my friends. I had originally planned to capture some more long exposure images with a variety of landscape settings, however I found that the majority of images I took were of landscapes, or nature using a normal shutter speed. Once I started getting drawn to these types of images, as I liked the stillness of the image and the calm feeling that came across when I looked through a few pictures. Laurence Demaison : It was a magical experience! From the very first moment, when Robert Delpire called me in person. (I still haven’t recovered!) Following on from the previous set of images, I decided to change my idea to fit my theme of photo manipulation and distortion. One other thing I could've captured more obviously in my previous set of images, would be the dogs tails wagging whilst waiting for their food. I wanted to experiment following on from my work using a long shutter speed to photograph the movement in the dogs tails. The image I am going to annotate is the one on the right. These series of photographs known as the Petites Bulles are eye capturing. Though particularly the photo on the right I am drawn to. This photographshows a portrait of a person that is distortional with water. My eye is specially drawn to the many bubbles that frame the image. Furthermore I really enjoy that the base image of the photo is still visible. He uses many composition styles, one I really like is that the bubbles are acting as many irregular frames. They have focused the camera in the middle. But what I do love is the different shapes and looks of texture on the bubbles; which causes your eye to never stop in one place for to long. As the viewer would want to take in the whole photo by Laurence.LODLP : Apart from the monograph, what impact did the prize have on your career? And what is your relationship like with HSBC today ? L’Œil de la Photographie : The Prix HSBC pour la Photographie turns 20 this year. It is awarded annually to two photographers to help them complete a project that will be exhibited and published as a monograph, often the artist’s first. What was your experience with the prize ? The complexity and ambiguity of Laurence Demaison’s work intrigues me. Her work is made up of self portraits, all of which her identity is stripped. She tells stories, evokes emotion, and forms an image of a being that is distorted, beautiful, repulsed, praised, and everything in between. She has the ability to make many out of one form, which is an idea I would like to continue with. A lot of the ideas that I wish to work with are personal, and yet I have not been able to find a way to make it objective. Demaison has successfully removed her personal identity from her work, while still allowing her ideas to flow through. Some of her work is beautiful, while other pieces are frightful, and evocative. I would like to experiment with creating images in a way that Demaison does, and possibly solidifying them on metal to tell a story that what has been done cannot be changed, yet all emotions and events create the being that you are today. Her technical virtuosity leads us to art that revels in the extremes of visual perception. Demaison’s photographs remind me of the distortions of Kertesz, the inventive playfulness of Man Ray and Moholy-Nagy, and the multiple perspectives of the Cubists — but her work is clearly her own. I aim to produce portraits that are elegant, beautiful, mysterious and sometimes strange.To show development, I must be able to purvey photos in a high quality standard. To begin my journey, I will consider a plan containing my key ideas such as what facial feature I would to cover with the mirror. I will then begin my in depth research on my artist research and give a detailed analysis as I would like to come up with multiple ideas for my final outcomes.