American artist (b. 1977) Being a curious naturalist from a young age, it’s no surprise that C. Owen has devoted full attention towards nature in her photography.
Focusing particularly on expired animals and insects, allows Owen to closely view her subjects in a different light. The photographs fall somewhere between metamorphosis and reincarnation; both life and death are themes in Owen’s work. She uses a simple stage-like observation, capturing a mood, a moment and often times creating a surreal world of the dark and uncanny. C. Owen received a B.F.A. in Fine Art Photography from the College for Creative Studies in 2003. Owen’s work has won numerous awards and has been published nationally and internationally. She currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
The photographs explore the existence of creatures killed for show. I capture their tragic story of innocence, anger, and fear through the expressions forced upon them by taxidermists and then modified by the lens. The animals emerge from a large black void that symbolizes death and forces us to imagine their missing bodies. I give them back their power through the photographs by choice of harsh, dramatic lighting. They are again hunted, but this time only to be captured by the camera, giving them another existence. [Official Website]
Within each photograph, the animals seem to speak to us; some are vengeful, threatening, angry, innocent, yet other are majestic and even calm.
2 comments
janssens serge
Oct 3, 2013 at 15:02
Je ne sais quel procédé à utilisé Owens , numérique ou argentique , mais le résultat obtenus est remarquable ,la lumière ,les angles de prises de vues ,la mise en page et surtout les tirages, du grand art .mes félicitations pour ton tout beau travail Owens
Janssens serge
Dec 21, 2013 at 19:37
Le graphisme d’Owens en parfaite osmose à sa lumière ,donne à ce clair-obscur toute sa densité . Bravo
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