The inspiration

Every project I take on I do for creative growth. For this one, it was to understand the speed of colours and see how projected shapes can be manipulated on different forms. It was a matter of light, shapes and space and this concept would inform the experimentation into my audio creations.

When I was around 7 or 8, I received a Larry the Lamb themed projector. I remember having more fun projecting the slides onto every but a flat surface. And so I commenced this project like I was still that boy in his bedroom.

I have a habit of collecting anything mechanical, of which are three vintage slide projectors. I decided that I would use the human body for a canvas due

 to the irregular forms it could potentially produce. Plus with the variety of skin tones it would mean that no two Manscapes would be alike, even when I used the same  slides.

The Process

I shot a few rolls of Fuji Velvia capturing a variety images from nature. I was mainly interested in textures but was restricted as I didn’t have a macro lens for my Nikon F1 or Olympus OM-1.

Once I had the slides processed I began working with different models over the ensuing years. The process was slow as it requires focusing on specific parts of the body with apertures from f1.8 to f2.8 to maintain a shallow depth of field. I had to work with a tripod as the exposure times were quite slow, and they needed to be in order to capture the colours that bled onto the subjects from the colours I used on the backdrop. Timing is everything a 1/15 of a second could determine how much or how little influence the background has on the subject in the foreground.