[...] Zana Bayne worked with photographer Adrian Wilson on a video for her collaboration with Sang Bleu Magazine that premiered during London Fashion Week. Shot at Wilson’s warehouse studio in Hackney, the silent, slow-motion video portrays two women in Bayne’s signature harnesses as they stage an informal photo shoot. Aside from Wilson’s beautiful footage and Bayne’s provocative, structured pieces, what’s stands out about this film are the issues it raises about voyeurism, gender roles, and the politics of power. The relationship between the women is defined along dominant/submissive lines through various means, most obviously by the fact that one of them issues commands (indeed all of the dialogue) and the other obeys. More symbolic is the role of the photographer (one of them takes pictures while the other is the object of the photographs). David Hemmings’ scene with Veruschka in Blow Up - trite as it has become as an example about voyeurism in photography – solidified the role of the photographer (in a photograph) as a socially, psychologically, and sexually dominant [male] figure. The Sang Bleu/Bayne video features an interesting dynamic: a woman is photographing another woman, both of whom are being shot by a man (Wilson) and are wearing harnesses created by a woman. This unusual perspective adds depth and challenge to the piece, a dimension that is characteristic of both Bayne’s aesthetic and Sang Bleu’s modus operandi. Watch the video in its entirely here. [...]
[...] Zana Bayne worked with photographer Adrian Wilson on a video for her collaboration with Sang Bleu Magazine that premiered during London Fashion Week. Shot at Wilson’s warehouse studio in Hackney, the silent, slow-motion video portrays two women in Bayne’s signature harnesses as they stage an informal photo shoot. Aside from Wilson’s beautiful footage and Bayne’s provocative, structured pieces, what’s stands out about this film are the issues it raises about voyeurism, gender roles, and the politics of power. The relationship between the women is defined along dominant/submissive lines through various means, most obviously by the fact that one of them issues commands (indeed all of the dialogue) and the other obeys. More symbolic is the role of the photographer (one of them takes pictures while the other is the object of the photographs). David Hemmings’ scene with Veruschka in Blow Up - trite as it has become as an example about voyeurism in photography – solidified the role of the photographer (in a photograph) as a socially, psychologically, and sexually dominant [male] figure. The Sang Bleu/Bayne video features an interesting dynamic: a woman is photographing another woman, both of whom are being shot by a man (Wilson) and are wearing harnesses created by a woman. This unusual perspective adds depth and challenge to the piece, a dimension that is characteristic of both Bayne’s aesthetic and Sang Bleu’s modus operandi. Watch the video in its entirely here. [...]
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