'Sculpture is an undervalued art, certainly compared with painting, and many people walk past great works of sculpture in the street every day without noticing them.'
The Three Graces, aka The Charites, are daughters of Zeus who represent the essence of beauty, charm and grace. Known in Greek mythology as Goddesses who provide festive joy and enhance the enjoyments of life. Their appearance, and character represent the nature of the Charites expressed by the names that each bear. The Three Graces are depicted in a Neoclassical sculpture created by artist Antonio Canova’s in 1817.
When you're shooting three handsome and photogenic models such as The Barleycorn Triplets, it behooves any artist to come up with an outstanding concept. Statuesque's theme of modernizing classic works is a perfect fit for the three brothers. I have written in the past about disdain for photographers who insist on shooting siblings, especially twins, with overly serialized poses and themes. There are many reasons I think doing so is a cop out, but it is most of all, creatively lazy.
UK photographer Statuesque has been focused on project which also bears his professional name. Statuesque's aim is to re-interpret great works of art, especially sculpture the the medium of photography. The UK based photographer feels that Sculpture is an undervalued art, and his goal is to raise the profile of this traditional art form by linking it with the digital media of our time.
Even before knowing the theme, I thought 'Statuesque' fit The Barleycorn's perfectly. Some of you may recognize one of the brothers, Jay E Barleycorn from his previous modeling work, including his images from Dylan Rosser. Jay tries to include his brothers in his work when he can, and is always looking for new projects that utilize their strengths and get's theme excited about the work.
The Waldegrave Girls by Sir Joshuah Reynolds
'What makes great art great is that it is always speaking to us in our own time. Sometimes the
historical baggage - the strange clothes, wigs and ways people behaved long ago - can get in the way and create a barrier. I wanted to create an intervention for Sir Joshuah Reynolds beautiful painting of three sisters who lived in the eighteenth century - the Waldegrave girls. Suppose they were brothers living today? What would they be doing? How would they look? How would they relate to each other?'
'When I discovered the Barleycorn triplets, I realized I had found the perfect models. Jay had already done some modelling, but Adam and Stephen were new to it. Nevertheless, their attitude was absolutely professional, and we had a brilliant shoot. They were quick to grasp the concept, and only needed minimal direction. Being 'natural' in front of a camera and under lights isn't the easiest thing, but they just took the concept and worked with it, talking, laughing, joking and interacting with each other until I had all the shots I needed. Not only are the Barleycorns great looking guys, they are the nicest guys you could hope to find in your studio! I hope to be able to explore other sibling concepts with them, as I would like to harness the synergy of these three talented young men to create interventions for other works of classic art.'
