Feature Artist: Mikey McMichaels
What initially drew me to Mickey McMichaels was the manner in which he visually represent his connection to the models he works with– he captures this closeness and intimacy that is uncovered in a progression of shots. McMichaels allows mood to dictate how a shoot will go– somehow capturing this intense closeness, this impression of the photographer simultaneously being there and not being there.
For me photography remains a transitory and mysterious medium, like poetry. Particularly McMichaels- in his attempt to capture the mood, the feeling, or even that sliver of specific moment is reminiscent of how poetry attempts to capture glimpses of moments with a single word or string of words before those moments disappear. The words, or the images linger and are left behind, becoming the memories of those fleeting moments.
McMichaels shoots both freestyle and conceptually– as with his Electric Chair Series. In this series the photographer utilizes music and sensations– asking of the models to think “how pleasure and pain can look the same.” McMichaels explores the blurred boundaries of life and death, pain and pleasure and how often the lines intersect. For some of the shots in the Electric Chair Series McMichaels offers the model the option of inserting a vibrator egg- that is never seen in the photographs– we the viewer never know which model is being pulsed from the inside.
McMichaels captures the mysterious moments of the women he shoots– making his pictures visual poetry.
Please stop by the Tumblr today to see all of my favorite shots.
Cam Damage by Mikey McMichaels
