With her raw, very aesthetic way of capturing falsely offered intimacy, Ellen von Unwert has made a name for herself with her work in fashion. Whether it be Madame Figaro, Vanity Fair, or Vogue, the press has rapidly called out to the elegant black and white that characterizes her. There is no equal when it comes to bringing phantasmagories to life, borrowing the codes and nothing more from eroticism. Amongst her greatest influences, she cites Newton and Lartigue. It’s easy to understand, then, the influence they had in her own sexy and dreamy universe. Her signature: bold, sensual, and brazen images, where a light eroticism rises up to assume a new state of aesthetic dignity. Punctuated with neon-colored images, her series meander and fascinate their way through their own symphony. “I want there to always be something funny in my photos, something happening, movement.” For this exhibit of never-before-seen images, the photographer found her inspiration in an underground movement born in the clubs of London and Tokyo: Little Beast, a role-playing game where fetishes turn the classic rules of eroticism upside down.
Say goodbye to bondage, latex, and black; the new generation prefers the kitsch eroticism of bright colors, the naiveté of an outfit rife with snakes, poodles, birds, horses, or rabbits. This selection of photographs stages these naughty and savage beasts in a boudoir ambiance. Ever erotic, Ellen Von Unwerth directed her models to let these images waver between super calculated staging and the spontaneity of a shot. Simply entitled “Little Beast”, Ellen’s work is composed around an interesting duality: on one hand, a very feminine, very soft, and very classy shade of light pink, on the other, black and white photos with a refined density. The graininess along with the tight, off-kilter framing offer a fresh point of view on these young eroticized women. Subtle and kitsch, this exhibit once more proves that Ellen Von Unwerth is someone who knows how to magnify fantasies.
You can check it out until November 9th, on 41 rue d’Artois.
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