As I stated above, Ryan's Scott's imagery weaves beauty, erotic with just a hint of disconcertion. You can feel it, even when you can't quite put your finger on it. Sure, there are obvious clues like the naked body holding the scull, then naked body covered in blood and of course the naked man hiding the scissors behind his back. That disconcerting feeling however is there in many of Ryan's images, it is the feeling that things are not quite as they appear.
Ryan knows skilfully how to lure in his viewers. You initially think your joining him in the tub for an erotic bubble bath. As you move from image to image however you begin to wonder if the goal of the bath is not to arouse, but instead to snuff out. I often get the feeling something sinister is about to occur in many of the theme's Ryan captures.
That is precisely what happened when enjoying Ryan's shoot with Woody Fox. Woody is a aerial circus performer and I instantly feel in love with the images of Woody in the air. As I spent time with the many captures from the shoot, a feeling of apprehension, maybe even dread began to rise.
I think part of it was the setting. An incredible setting, a barn, with Ryan beautifully framing Woody in what once was a window with the natural light which shown through the opening and slats in the wood. The barn, initially beautiful, started to feel dangerous. Long abandoned, isolated, I was reminded of the old barns horror movies such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Woody, so breathtaking in the air, also at times appeared lifeless, hanging as if left their to die. I could imagine hundreds of women an men hung by the buildings wooden beams during the witch trials in Salem or after a bloody battle during a battle or war.
I shook myself from the dread to go back to enjoying the beauty of the images when I came upon the image below. Stuck among the others, near the bottom of the page I was viewing, appeared Woody, hanged, not hung from the same ropes that previously caressed his body. I instantly knew artist and model had similar thoughts as myself as they shot, Ryan included the image without words, without warning, to give a bit of a jolt to the unsuspecting viewer, in this case me.
I think that is part of Ryan's sill and magic. As an artist, he lures you with with beautiful bodies, images and poses, then shakes you with an unexpected jolt. A surge of artistry, a twist to cause you to think differently about what your looking at. I know I did with these images of Woody. A hot Naked aerialist hanging high within an old barn would have impressive enough as a theme. The added layers weaved in make the trip so much more interesting and dangerous.
