Exoplanetology (2014)

An immersive, informative and imaginative photographic project - spanning landscape, portraiture and fine-art photography within our current fashion discourse.
Extra solar planets (Exoplanets) are celestial bodies orbiting their own stars outside of our solar system - which are spotted, discovered and researched every single day. Realising the existence of exoplanets can cause a very sublime sense of awe and perspective, which establishes our importance but also our insignificance in time.

Ultimately, we are all made of the same matter, every planet and every person therefore these planets may be closer than we think. This project explores my own personal fascination with four exoplanets and how the same matter and characteristics can be captured radiating from my chosen subjects and locations, whether it’s found in their personal sense of style, genetics, appearance, age or personality – they are a human embodiment of that planet.

The images create and capture a romantic, subtle and stylised fashion narrative without the use of forced or overt styling, studios or models. I personally scouted or cast every subject and location in my images in keeping with my own visualisation of each planet – creating an authentic approach to fashion and editorial imagery - creating a relaxed, alternative approach to fashion photography, where there is often as much focus on landscape as the styling.

The manifesto so far is a sequence of 40 images observing exoplanet trends in portraiture, landscape and fine art photography – and when combined, creates an honest and tangible narration of contemporary fashion culture and style and ideologies from a personal vision and active interest in both fashion and scientific discovery.

'Exoplanetology' was printed into four, unique, large format books - imagined science reports of photography, encompassing what each planet could be like.