Breathtaking, mesmerizing and luxurious, Belgian photographer, model and costume designer Viona creates arresting images that haunt the viewer.

Viona is involved with every detail of her portraits.  She designs and sews almost all of the costumes herself.  She takes great care in scouting locations.  When she does not do the hair and makeup, she oversees it.  She even appears in some of the photos, which her assistant takes in her style.  Viona has developed a distinctive light style.  She shoots with a Nikon D300 digital camera.  For location shoots, she uses a portable infrared flash.  In the studio she works with 3 Godard torches with large softboxes.  She admits to using photo editing software to manipulate colors and contrast, but says she creates as much as she can in camera.

It’s obvious that Viona does not strive to depict reality in her photos.  Her goal is to bring a fantasy dream world to life.  Her photos evoke old romantic paintings and fairytales.  They are so rich with detail and context that they look like movie stills.

“Through my photographs I cherish the hope to share some beauty with other people,” she writes on her website, “to open their eyes [to] their own inner worlds.”

Viona has always been fond of princesses.  Princesses allow her to remain in touch with her inner child.  Some of her other muses include cats and horses.  She finds that her work is always interpreted as dark, though she doesn’t set out to make dark art.

Viona is available for custom costume requests and if you are in Belgium, photo sessions.  I’m adding her to my list of dream-collaborators.  Also in Antwerp, Belgium, on February 12, Viona hosts the annual Gala Nocturna Ball.  This year’s theme is Elizabethan.  Visit her website for more information.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 5th, 2011 at 11:49 am and is filed under Art, Costumes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.