I know that I have already shown you the work of Joshua Hoffine, but I find his work truly compelling, so I am probably going to bore you a little more with my ramblings. However this time I will look more in depth in to not only Hoffine as a photographer but also his works.
Joshua Hoffine is a Horror Photographer who
is based out of Kansas City, USA, and did not discover photography until he
graduated from college and obtaining his degree in English Literature, from
there he went on to gain an internship with Nick Vedros.
Hoffine’s work is based on horror with much
of it dealing with childhood fears which are part of the series aptly named ‘After Dark My Sweet’, these images
delve into the panic and anxiety of the fears them self, often reminding the
viewer of things they used to be frightened of as we are all born with inherent and instinctual fears, such as the fear of the
dark, a fear of being grabbed and eaten, but over time these fears lose
their intensity or are forgotten about completely, while the imagery works to
help recover these memories of the fear, which in turn helps the viewer
empathise with the model playing the victim in the photographs and hopefully
then the fear will be mutually experienced, creating a sense of wanting to help
and comfort the child.
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| Candy - Joshua Hoffine |
Hoffine often presents his narratives
through the grammar of a child and uses little girls with blond hair, (these
girls happen to be his own daughters) as the child victim in his work when
portraying the fears and nightmares of children, as they seem to carry more of
an archetypal power, and reference other little girl characters from fairy
tales such as Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, and Alice in Wonderland, just
to name a few, as they seem to symbolise the vulnerability, innocence and
wonderment of a child which in turn creates a subtext and metaphor to his
imagery.
The inspiration for Hoffine’s horror
photography is fuelled from his own childhood memories along with horror films
and classic fairy tales, with a link between horror films and fairy tales
baring a strong link almost cross over between them, (the notorious film ‘Psycho’
bares heavy links to ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, as both Norman Bates and the
Wolf take on a mask of normalcy in order to hide their evil and violent intent)
with the message of a fairy tale ultimately teaching the child that life has
difficulties, while a horror film similar to the fairy tale message but the
process will start over again once overcome. Another of his Influences and interests is the
psychology of fear, and more specifically Jungian Psychology.
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| Closet - Joshua Hoffine |
All of the work begins with Hoffine jotting
down potential ideas for prospective photographs in a journal, describing all
the ins and outs of what is to be seen and present in the piece
The way Hoffine sets up his scenes are
similar to small movies, capturing meticulously lit performances on camera,
with the added help of elaborate props, special effects, costumes and make-up.
The sets are styled to reflect a sense of innocence and nostalgia, as many of
the elements; such as wallpaper patterns and furniture, resembling that of the
1940’s and 1950’s period, all to create a world where Hoffine drags
psychological monsters out into the light, with no reliance of Photoshop as
Hoffine states “I want my images to be as
believable as possible.”
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