Fabricate 1

Fabricate 1

From the article “Images that Intrigue” by Peter Skinner

www.aftercapture.com

A superb example of a campaign eliciting
that emotional response is one of
Dean’s most recent success stories—images
for an ongoing series, “Fabricate,” for
couture designers MXM Couture (www.
mxmcouture.com). Significantly, the initial
two images in the “Fabricate” campaign
claimed first and second place in
the latest Commercial/Advertising Photographer
of the Year International Aper-ture Awards. In the only other competition
Dean has entered—as a student—he
claimed a gold and silver distinction and
a runner-up award for prints in the annual
Australian Professional Photographers
Association awards.
“ ‘Fabricate’ is a collaboration of
some of the best stylists and production
people that Australia has to offer
and I feel it definitely shows. There will
be five images in the series and the first
two took months to produce so there are
still three more to complete. It’s a really
exciting campaign,” says Dean.
“Fabricate,” as Dean explains, has a
double meaning and is an exploration
into conceptualization; its execution
is definitely a mental exercise. “ ‘Fabricate’
refers both to the subject of fashion
photography, the clothes, and more
importantly to the images’ fabrication—how they are created in the sense that
they are highly stylized pre- and postproduction
collages,” he says.
Each image is designed and created
with the intention of arousing intense curiosity
and examination into not only its
finality but also how it was made and its
underlying theme. “The images turn the
exhibition of fashion through photography
back on itself by exposing the process
of exhibition itself—exhibiting the
exhibit, if you will,” says Dean. While this
is a classic case of a picture being worth a
thousand words, Dean points out that the
multi-layered images allow viewers to analyze
the process of digital photography itself,
which incorporates surreally collaged
objects or has perfectly manicured and
poised models caught in mid-jump.
“The series is united by a sense of volatility,”
Dean says. “Subjects are frozen within
turbulent scenes. This chaos, depicted
through flapping wings, flowing dresses
and crashing objects, is meant to reflect
the flippant, fleeting and unstable nature
of the fashion industry. And yet within this
chaos each image captures an ephemeral
moment of beauty, allowing the models to
maintain their dominance—to which the
audience is unwittingly subjected.” Scrutinize
the superb images and you will see
exactly what he means.
As with all complex and multi-faceted
campaigns, the genesis of “Fabricate” has
been long and demanding. Several months
were devoted to drafting the original concepts,
set building, hair and costume design.
Each image is multi-layered and the
set design was a combination of over 20
different elements. All backgrounds for
the series’ images were shot in an old museum,
a location that provided ideal elements
such as walls, floors and windows.
A major technical challenge was ensuring
consistency of lighting—its quality, intensity
and direction. A Sydney retouching
company, Electric Art (www.electricart.
com.au), was hired for conformity maintenance—
to ensure the same look and feel
was infused into each image,
With two “Fabricate” images under
his belt, Dean is now working on the remaining
three but no specifics have been
finalized—although the models have
been selected and some shooting on various
elements has been completed. Don’t
be surprised, however, if themes such as
exorcism, dead swans and models in dark
or macabre locations are featured.

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