This project from Blake Little makes me want to have a long, hot, cleansing shower in sympathy for his models; kudos to the plucky individuals who posed for the L.A.-based Seattle artist as he poured gallons of honey over them for the photographic series Preservation. A selection of the images, soon to be published in a monograph, are being shown at Kopeikin Gallery, Culver City.
A fine commercial, editorial and portraiture resume means Little won’t have been short of volunteers for this sickly, sticky project on the artistic side of his practice, and while I’d rather them than me, the results are extraordinarily powerful. Subjects of all shapes, sizes and ages undertook the challenge; in some of the dynamic images, their movement causes trails of the thick golden liquid to follow them like the afterglow from a quick-moving light, while in others they remain motionless, ancient beings entombed forever in amber. Forced to close their eyes from the runny honey, Little’s subjects reveal facial expressions akin to those unearthed in the ruins of Pompeii, further conveying emotion through their body language and musculature. The show opens on 7 March, and Little will be present on 26 March to hold a book signing and Q&A session. Closing date is 18 April, whilst Preservation is available now to pre-order with a 10% discount.
@kopeikingallery
@BlakeLittle_com
Blake Little,
Karen reclining, 2014
Blake Little,
Isaiah upright, 2014
Blake Little,
Chandra standing, 2014
Blake Little,
Katia close-up, 2013
Blake Little,
Devion back, 2012
Blake Little,
Catherine, 2012
Blake Little,
Lindsay, 2013
