PORTRAITS
EXPERIMENTS WITH SURREALIST PORTRAITURE
Recent edits of photo session with Jean Nance (Toronto, February 2025)
With these images, I aim to explore surrealist portraiture with techniques reminiscent of those pioneered by Man Ray, Lee Miller and their contemporaries. My intent is to capture an ethereal ambiguity—a hallmark of surrealist photographic practice—using long exposures and tonal manipulations, especially solarization, a method Man Ray famously employed to invert reality and unsettle perception.
By exhibiting my subject as both present and ephemeral, I aim to create ghostly, uncertain figures that recall the mysterious quality of Man Ray's rayographs. These visual strategies challenge the traditional photographic notions of authenticity and immediacy, questioning how identity and temporality manifest through imagery. Likewise, the repeated layering of forms echoes the experiments of László Moholy-Nagy, who was fascinated by collisions of form, motion and abstraction. Long exposures create temporal layering and generate distortions of the human form (intentional blurring, visual duplication, etc.) ... leading to a sense of spatial and existential ambiguity.
Portrait Art: Selections
EXPERIMENTS IN CONSTRUCTIVIST PORTRAITURE
I’m a long-time admirer of Constructivism, as it is applied in photography and cinematography. While I also appreciate its theoretical underpinnings, I am more drawn to its formal, visual aspects.
Each of the portraits in the series below is an exercise in experimental Constructivist portraiture, albeit with a vintage twist. I set out to build these images as a nod to the original Constructivists who treated art as an engineered construction rather than a personal expression.
Inspired by Alexander Rodchenko’s unconventional angles and hard contrasts of light and shadow, I compose the subjects’ likeness along stark geometric lines. Projected geometric shapes, mirrors and layered reflections fracture and multiply their figure, echoing the photomontage tradition and even Dziga Vertov’s film experiments with oblique angles and long- and double-exposures.
Although these images are intended in part as a homage, I also depart from Constructivism’s austere detachment. I’ve placed a greater emphasis on style and stylization ... and a nostalgic colour palette lends each image a retro soul ... and Kvitka and Manon’s emotional auras shift with every frame. So, in contrast to the Soviet constructivists, here I also sought to emphasize style and sentiment.
Statement on Portraiture
We often hear that the goal of portrait photography, ideally, is to maximally capture a subject's "essential character," or perhaps even to embody their "spirit" or "soul." This is a beautiful but unrealistic sentiment. Instead, the point is to provoke interest in the subject ... to induce intense wonder on the part of viewers.
This is achieved when the portrait avoids bringing the subject fully into view, as it were, under a glaring light. A compelling portrait leaves some core aspects of the subject partially obscured, ideally through some form of visual abstraction. The ultimate meaning of the portrait image ought to remain elusive ... and hence open to further inquiry.
My long years of studying philosophy have left a mark on my photography, and so I aim to infuse a lyrical, contemplative quality into my visual storytelling … I strive to create images that resonate both on an emotional and intellectual level.
I often partially shroud my subjects, via layers of abstraction, e.g., by using reflective surfaces, blurred motion, visual diffusion, etc. ... and I sometimes introduce surrealistic elements. I often use unique lighting techniques and try to emphasize shadows, as much as light, by way of sculpting form and figure in order to add a sense of intrigue and intimacy to my images. I also often apply non-generic colour grading, mainly in order to create an atmosphere that is complementary to my subject's character … but also, again, to induce attention.
I avoid revealing subjects under stark, sharp illumination that makes them immediately and fully present. Instead, I want viewers to look more closely and to wonder about the person beyond the frame.
Simply put, I aim to foster a richer interpretive experience ... to allow the subject’s persona to come through more quietly, yet with greater intensity ... thereby also generating an emotional and imaginative dialogue with the viewer.
I aim to present my subjects in ways that emphasize their inner strength and dignity, and I often try to capture them in contemplative, thoughtful or meditative moments. … I strongly believe that interesting and intriguing portraits are often more compelling and worthwhile than strictly “beautiful” captures.
I'm available for commissions and am able to serve both private individuals, as well as commercial/institutional clients.
