Franck Sorbier

When I saw this editorial for Charter Magazine China by Franck Sorbier I knew that I also wanted to use playing cards as part of my concept for FMP. The beautiful Chinese landscapes make the images feel more grounded and somehow realistic against the life-size playing cards that the subjects stand in front of. I like the Sorbier plays with the scale of the cards and that the landscapes make the subject feel free and unrestricted from the cards- but the function of the cards keep them restricted and confined. My interpretation of the playing cards is the entrap, incase and isolate the characters to represent peoples views on their place in society. This is different to Sorbier’s depiction which gives freedom to the ‘suits’, while I am aiming to portray restrictions , labels and rules (just like the actual cards represent). The strong stances of the models and the shots where they are slightly elevated or stepping on ladders brings them to a higher position, as though they are looking down at us- making us feel less powerful and inferior to them. I will definitely have to think about how I want my models to be represented or perceived and my viewing point will definitely help put this across. The mix of natural imagery and the obviously artificial large playing cards makes the images feel very surreal and dreamlike. I may choose to look at more natural elements into my work to juxtapose the idea of it being ‘normal’ to judge someone or categorise them.

The Jokers Wild

‘The Jokers Wild’ by Paolo Roversi was a 2012 editorial for UK Vogue that saw the format and layout of playing cards run throughout. All four suits are looked at within the editorial, but the Joker is recurrently appearing all of the cards and no other ‘special cards’ figures such as the King or Queen ever appear. I was not entirely sure of the context or meaning behind the shoot, but perhaps it is sending a message about individuals we have in our lives that completely dominate and overpower everything else. Perhaps it could also tell us to ‘watch out for the ones we do not expect’ as the joker has little to no purpose in the function of cards (usually there are two in the deck used to replace missing cards)- but here the Joker has gone ‘wild’ and overtaken everything else in the deck.

Christian Tagliavini

Alike Franck Sorbier, Christian Tagliavini has created these life-size playing cards- but these have been laser cut from wood and hand painted. The clothing of the subjects is actually connected to the playing cards themselves- and the models simply stand behind them and become transformed into a suit character.  Both of these artists have provoked me to think about scale within my FMP- but of the props within the shots and also of the playing cards themselves. Tagliavini says that he is “fascinated by the fact that I doesn’t simply release the shutter, the real fun for me is before I take the pictures. I say that I’m not really a photographer, but a workman of photography. I like to play at designing and creating clothes that no one can really wear”. In some ways I really like this series of images, but in another way I am not a huge fan because of how crisp, precise and ‘perfect’ these cards are. I envision my cards to be a lot more experimental and uncontainable- as though there are parts of the cards that we cannot fully see (I want to leave some things up to the viewers imagination). I am glad I looked into this series regardless as it has confirmed my ideas about creating less realistic or traditional cards and being much more creative and abstract with their aesthetic.