Tony Charles
Identities Obscura
My photographic practice focusses on the genre of fine art black & white portraiture and the area of personal identity – who we are, how we want to be seen, how we are perceived by others.
Growing up as a child during the 1940s and 1950s, I saw the Hollywood movies. Like everyone in that post-war time, we were fascinated by the screen idols – handsome white men and beautiful white women. The stills photographers of Hollywood created an illusion of beauty through their perfect images.
Now 70 years later, we live in a completely different world of mass-culture, a global economy and an increasingly materialistic society. My aim with this project has been to re-visit the images of that Hollywood golden era and challenge those stereotypical 1940s images with images and identity that are more representative of today's diverse and multi-cultural society and in a way that questions identity and presence.
Every one of us can project our self-identity, and how we want people to perceive us through the powerful source of social media. As we continue to mature throughout our lives, we can explore and redefine our identities and manage how we want people to see us, be it true or false, through the power of the photographic image, just as the Hollywood stars did all those years ago.
Identities Obscura
My photographic practice focusses on the genre of fine art black & white portraiture and the area of personal identity – who we are, how we want to be seen, how we are perceived by others.
Growing up as a child during the 1940s and 1950s, I saw the Hollywood movies. Like everyone in that post-war time, we were fascinated by the screen idols – handsome white men and beautiful white women. The stills photographers of Hollywood created an illusion of beauty through their perfect images.
Now 70 years later, we live in a completely different world of mass-culture, a global economy and an increasingly materialistic society. My aim with this project has been to re-visit the images of that Hollywood golden era and challenge those stereotypical 1940s images with images and identity that are more representative of today's diverse and multi-cultural society and in a way that questions identity and presence.
Every one of us can project our self-identity, and how we want people to perceive us through the powerful source of social media. As we continue to mature throughout our lives, we can explore and redefine our identities and manage how we want people to see us, be it true or false, through the power of the photographic image, just as the Hollywood stars did all those years ago.