In Vogue Italia, August 2010 issue, was an editorial which caused much controversy with its depiction of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. When I first saw this fashion story I was blown away and 18 months later it is still one of my most inspiring shoots. Its incredibly powerful imagery has had much criticism, calling it insensitive and condemns it for glamourising such a tragic ecological and social disaster. Although I understand this point of view completely I do feel that this shoots intentions have been misunderstood.
Unfortunately we have become desensitised by the bombardment of images we see from not only this disaster, but many others too that sometimes to help raise awareness of such a important issue, something more visually shocking is needed. These disasters are often depicted through art and the photographer Steven Meisel uses his art the best way he knows how to do the same. Why cant a 'fashion' story be considered as art?
This beautiful creature has been washed ashore, drenched, worn down and chocking on this oil filled water. But this isn’t of the creatures we have come accustomed to seeing soaked in oil on our screens and in our news papers. This is of a human, a woman, and a face that is well recognised to many of Vogues readers and shown in a style that they will find engaging. Not to everyones taste but you cannot deny how powerful these series of photographs are.
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