Blake Little, a photographer from California, set out in 2014 to create a series of portraits displaying a diverse set of models that are stripped down and completely covered in honey. The result is an astonishing, surreal portrayal of humans who would normally be seen as average and seemingly uninteresting in the everyday world, but when engulfed in this ordinary liquid, give off a vitality and vibrancy that is difficult to describe.
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Little got the idea for Preservation
when shooting a stocky man eating
honey like a bear. Noticing how much his
hands looked preserved after the shoot,
Little decided to repeat the experiment
but instead covering his whole body. |
Little describes the coating of honey as "if the people appear to be preserved in Amber", hence the title of the piece. The honey is said to be almost like a catalyst that gives the impression of death and immortality simultaneously. Little also describes how it distorts the shapes and sizes of the human body to make them like a caricature of themselves, frozen in time.
Little describes his views in more detail in the video listed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wVRClZhYxA
The book was released on February 28, and his installation to be viewed at the end of March. After taking a look at various stills from the projects, I have to say that I really enjoyed what was depicted. I think the concept of preserving human life in a material which is essentially a building block of life itself (bees, pollination, plant life, etc.) to be very interesting and relevant in current times. We live in a world that is constantly moving and changing, which makes it refreshing to see an art piece that evokes a sense of tranquility and stillness. Although all of the models used are diverse in appearance, they all seem to rest in a state of mind that is strung together by this golden substance. In the video above, a model describes the sensation of being covered in honey as almost being like a blanket, protecting and sheltering her from her surroundings.
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| Production Assistants engulf models in honey. |
Aesthetically, the honey really displays the beauty and diversity that comes from the human body. It gives the audience a chance to really look in depth at the subtle details that might not be noticeable in traditional portraits. Looking at these photographs, I imagine it to almost be like a museum display. The people look so still and lifeless that they can almost be statues.
I do think that perhaps this piece might have been wasteful in the use of honey, but is probably nothing compared to the amount which is actually consumed in the world today. More importantly, I think that this idea of preservation can be explored in a variety of different ways that doesn't necessarily have to involve people, but inanimate objects as well, not to mention other forms of life such as vegetation (trees, fruits, etc.). Despite this, the series of photographs rarely got repetitive as Little managed to capture a very diverse set group of people in a variety of poses which made the piece all the more interesting and captivating to observe.
Overall, I think that Little was very successful when creating this series of portraits. He has an eye for subtle detail, and has created something that is equally original and beautiful to look at at. I look forward to see more of his work, as he seems to be a very interesting and unique photographer that challenges the typical norms of contemporary art.
