You know what is really bizarre? Just how much of the music video “I’d do anything for love” by Meat Loaf subconsciously bled into this image called Haunted Fairy Tale. I was talking to Adam about the concept the other day and I said to him, “I don’t know, it just feels sooo Meat Loaf-ish to me.”
Back in the early nineties, “I’d do anything for love” aired on MTV and I remember it clear as day. It was also during a time in technology where YouTube didn’t exist yet so if you wanted to re-watch it you had to rush to the VHS recorder and you never had a full copy of the video (same thing with the radio and cassette tapes). Did anyone else here have this same problem? Haha. Eventually, I got a relatively complete recording of this music video and I remember obsessively playing it. Now, for parents who are freaking out that little ol’ me at the tender age of 7 was exposed to such an inappropriate video, I turned out just fine. Honestly, I never even noticed the breasts, girl on girl scene and creepy stalker dude until I was MUCH older. I was more fascinated by the theatrics of the video and overall how much it resembled a real-life version of Beauty and the Beast.
Whenever I create, it’s weird to see how my life experiences influence my work. While you might be thinking to yourself that Haunted Fairy Tale resembles nothing to the music video, I feel that it does in many ways. The dark cloaked figures around her remind me of the scene where Meat Loaf is watching the girl – he is all around her in a black cloak. She wears white all throughout the video. Obviously it’s not snowing but remember how I told you “I’d do anything for love” reminded me Beauty and the Beast? Well, Bell runs away in the snow in a cloak and then is chased by those wolves (dark figures)… You get the drift (pun may or may not have been intended hehe).
I selected a black and white edit for this image because it circles back to my love for black and white photography and my days of film. The birds circling at the top were intentionally placed there because I alway tends to see birds swarming around the sky when something has died below. I try to incorporate a past, present and future reference in a lot of my work. In this piece, I did that with the three birds which also symbolize freedom to me.
Lastly, the black shapes also bring to life one of my greatest fears – that which I cannot really see. Yes, the figures are black but we cannot see faces, their body, energy, etc. Are they moving towards her or away? What are they? Who are they? Are they even tangible beings?
How does the media that you’ve been exposed to influence your own imagination?
Haunted Fairy Tale is available as a limited edition print in three sizes. Each piece is printed on Hahnemule Bamboo Paper (certified archival for over 100 years with proper care) and inspected in person at my lab by me. Click here to purchase your limited edition work of art.
Here are some crazy behind the scenes of shooting Haunted Fairy Tale… I can only imaging what the homeowners who live around this field must have thought of the girl running around in a Grim Reaper costume. At least I can say that I was the highlight of their day 😉 (Make sure you scroll all the way down for the speed edit!)
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