"Twisted"

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear “twisted?” What about when there is a dancer involved, for them twisted can mean way more things than normal inflexible people, like me. When I was first given this assignment, I was very excited, mostly to have a built in model that is willing to go along with some of my weird ideas as well as being able to exhibit some of my work for one of the first times. It would be shown on the campus of my school, James Madison University in the Forbes Center. When it came to the assignment, we went to my school theatre, we were told that we would be collaborating with Virginia Repertory Dance Committee. Each photography student would be assigned either one or two dancers to attempt to photograph an abstract interpretation of “twisted.” My assigned dancer, Molly Philpott was very open to all ideas no matter how strange. We then would discuss ideas, locations, posing, and costume. 

In my first attempt, I wanted to use rope as part of my interpretation of twisted. My intention was to make a dress comprised of rope and satin that would also be exhibited in the Forbes Center alongside my images. This, however, did not work as planned and my thoughts would have to twist if you will. I was wandering around Hobby Lobby for fun, as every 20 year old does, and came across a giant decorative rose. This sparked something. As my idea shifted and as I explored Hobby Lobby more I had decided to go for an Alice and Wonderland-esque themed shoot, where sizes are distorted and the line between what’s real and what’s fake may be blurred. Molly, my wonderful dancer, was then put to work. I wanted all the giant elements to be involved in my final images, especially my giant slice of cake that took four normal sized cakes to make. She was able to do so while still looking graceful. 

Only two images would be showcased and after getting the opinion from my classmates, peers and artist, Ryan Parra, I decided to submit these two. I think the posing is impeccable, thanks to Molly! While some of the options Molly was looking directly into the camera, I prefered the ones looking away as to maintain the mystery and make it seem more dreamlike as if people could see her but she couldn’t see anyone. The lighting and theme of both blended very nicely and together tell a greater story in my opinion! If you scroll past the exhibition poster you can find some of the other images that did not quite make the cut.

Here is the photo placement once installed at the Forbes Center

The advertisement poster for the student exhibition

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