Beauté Aviaire [Avian Beauty]: Feathers & Fashion

Beauté Aviaire A series of conceptual fine art prints, exploring the connection between the aesthetic beauty that visually lies in the delicate luxurious opulence of avian plumage and the sexual femininity of the female form. These composite images, where feather meets beauty and fashion, are constructed using the art of photographic capture, photographing models and birdlife in separate instances and in separate locations. Then digitally manipulating the imagery in postproduction, to create a new single piece of artwork, a combination of both bird and beauty, each perfectly complementing the other. It has always interested me, the way that the fashion industry has long associated a feminine quality to both fur and feathers, especially when more often than not; it is the plumage from the male of the species that is chosen to be worn. Here with the help of modern digital postproduction techniques, I have been able to explore this connection further and unlike 19th century aristocracy who chose to wear whole stuffed birds as hats at the height of the "plume boom" era, I’ve been able to produce this artwork without any birdlife being manhandled or harmed in the process. All of the garments, as well as hair styles featured have been created solely using manipulated imagery taken of various birdlife and at no point during the process of this project did any of the models see, wear or come into contact with any of the feathers or birdlife featured in this series of prints. Makeup Artists: Caroline Stewart Jenni Muir Karen Bowen Molly Jane Sheridan Rosie Fraser Sammy Foster Our Models: Amy Chong - Colours Model Management Charlie Banks - Colours Model Management Christine Stephanie Dunnett - Model Team Gemma Warnock Kaitlin Dobson - Colours Model Management Lynn Mathieson Megan Johannessen - Colours Model Management Monika Wiktorowicz Namate Sililo Nikki Fox Weston Olivia Taylor - Colours Model Management Shana Gilham - Colours Model Management Suki Kaur Sunner With special thanks: Photographers Assistant - Emidio J Battipaglia Production - Youth Juice Creative Productions. Fashionscape Europe 2014 Essential Edinburgh Norwegian Consulate General Colours Model Management MEOW Studios, Edinburgh RETINA – Scottish International Photography Festival The Creative Exchange Edinburgh College Harvey Nichols BIPP – British Institute of Professional Photographers Adobe - Adobe Creative Cloud Bēhance Bowens Industry Lighting Company Wacom Saatchi Art