review — Lujon Rael Portfolio - Blog

At the end of 2020 I entered nine images into a Lens Culture ‘Fantasy Art’ competition. While I did not win, they did however give me a good review of my work.

Have a read.

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Greetings, Lujon Rael, and thank you for sharing this beautiful work with us.

Without being similar, your fantasy art images reminded me of the classic work of William Mortensen, an early 20th-century photographer whose work characterized as a mixture of stylized portraiture with fantasy narratives, and cinematic style. Mortensen was inspired particularly by horror films that lead him to create a body of work of demons, witches, and other mythical entities.

Like in Mortensen's work, your images demonstrate a mixture of many elements, both traditional and contemporary. Elements of fashion or glamor photography blend with the traditional horror iconography but without getting entrapped into a repetition of overused themes and approaches. Cinema and Literature also seem to offer you inspiration as you create your fantasy world.

Some of the pictures obviously investigate the same theme, showing off your focus and dedication to an idea, as well as your willingness to explore it further. Pictures 1, 3, and 8 are a good example of a study on a particular theme through variations. The title Jinn informs the viewer as to what kind of entity you examine. Technically all three images are well-made so the criteria as to which one is the best picture are obviously subjective. In my opinion, picture 1 seems to be one step ahead. Eye contact is the critical element for my decision. Whereas in pictures 3 and 8 the creature appears mostly as a spectacle, in picture 1 she is challenging the viewer to look at her, and by extension to communicate with her. But also narratively the picture appears to be denser. The red color, a direct reference to blood, optimizes the grotesque element, making the image more effective.

Images 4, 6, and 7 could belong to the same framework, as each of them appears to explore the mythical and the trivial at the same time. Ordinary house objects obtain meaning through correlation with the human body. These objects turning into body parts, illustrating paradoxical creatures that look simultaneously familiar and alien. I find that you should continue working on this idea, but seeing the work as a long term project and not as an occasion to make some singles more. If you find my idea interesting, make sure that the pictures that will be parts of this series will have a tight general aesthetics, that makes them be visually cohesive. Among the three you have here, picture 7 appeals to my artistic sensibilities a little bit more than the other two do. It is perhaps the soft contrast that somehow controls the grotesque element from too emphatic.

Pictures 2 and 9 change the perspective you approach the subject. This time it is a detail that defines the whole and not the opposite as in the rest of the work. Picture 2 is technically beautiful but I feel that you have tried to quickly bargain with the subject. The snake-tongue human is a pretty stereotypical fantasy scheme. I would prefer to see something that attempts to take that scheme to the next level. Opposingly, picture 9 is more interesting. The act of decorating your body with jewelry obtains new meaning through the correlation with vampire iconography. This picture could also show you a path to follow, a theme to explore. Think about it.

As for image 5, again, you have tried to blend the iconic with the contemporary, and to some extent, you have done a very good job. Perhaps it would be better to avoid titles that explain the concept of the picture, especially when you are using icons everybody understands. I mean that the image obviously explores the iconic figure of Madonna, making the title sound tautological. Do not forget that titles and captions should extend the language of the image.

To conclude, in one way or another, your pictures manifest an inherent curiosity for human behavior and attitude. The combination of mythical with contemporary gestures is a really interesting and promising theme. I recommend you keep on exploring it and I would like to see how it is going to evolve. For the moment, I wish you the best of luck in the contest.

Take care.