A Circus Project: With Artist Eleri Davies
I was recently commissioned by Welsh Figurative Artist, Eleri Davies, to photograph a series of portraiture imagery to serve as a basis for her upcoming project.
This was a new for me - and I was thrilled when Eleri asked me to come on board! I met Eleri through Instagram previously, when she contacted me to ask if she could paint one of my portraits from my “Showgirl” series with Charlie Hex.
Eleri's early work was heavily influenced by the characters she came across on her travels and work. Having trained in circus performance in her teenage years, it has been a dream to paint circus performers, and to tell the stories of the real performers behind the portraiture series. After completing the gorgeous painting of Charlie (pictured above), Eleri commissioned me to photograph a circus series put together by her in Wales.
A Circus Project
Eleri sourced real acrobatic, jugglers and dancing circus performers as real models for this concept. We wanted to focus on real, raw performers and capture their personality in the portraits in a classic vintage circus style. The stunning venue was sourced and hired for this beautiful brass wall that fitted our theme. The circus costumes were all handmade using Eleri's experience in costume design, and props have been made or sourced from local Welsh businesses especially for this series.
About the series - An interview with Eleri Davies.
I took my fantastic video partner with me from Luxe Production to talk to Eleri about the project, and capture behind the scenes of the day. Watch below.
Below is a selection of my favourite photographs of the performers captured throughout the day in their various sets.
I loved this challenge, I am primarily a fashion and editorial photographer - So trying to translate these gorgeous people into portraits intended for painting was something new. The series were all edited to be very bright, raw and moody, texture was incredibly important and trying to preserve these details, while focusing strongly on the performer and their character.
You can stay tuned with the team for this exciting project below:
Artist: Eleri Davies / @eleri_davies
Performers: Bethany, Olga, Jamie, Bunmi
Photo/Video: Hannah Lunn Photography & Craig Whitehead - Luxe Production
