Eric Ceccarini photographs nudes from behind a membrane
An amnios is a thin, tough membrane which encloses the foetus of a mammal, bird or reptile, filled with a fluid in which the foetus is suspended.
Appearing as ‘soul portraits’, the models in Eric Ceccarini’s series ‘Amnios’ appear in suspended animation. The membrane-like separator between us and the subjects implies that they are about to be born, full of hidden secrets. The theme of this series represents a conceptual departure for Eric, who began as a fashion photographer, moving to classic artistic nudes, and now presenting the nude in ethereal form.
Set apart from many of his contemporaries through rejecting technical artifice and working in natural light with Polaroid film, the results are soft images with a painterly, velvety quality, capturing women’s essence and soul, and transcending them. The function of the membrane in the photos is unclear: is it to hide them, or to protect?
Eric cites Botticelli as one of his primary inspirations, and his influence is visible throughout ‘Amnios’ in the conceptual mirroring of the Birth of Venus.
The monumental scale of the images adds to the sense of restrained power which they possess.
Eric is a Belgian artist, born in 1965, studying photography before becoming a fashion photographer, working with clients such as Chopard, Elle, Marie-Claire, L’Oréal, Levi’s, Coca Cola, Virgin, Saab, Delvaux, Lowe Lintas and Ogilvy.
He has stated that he has always sought to sublimate the women he photographs, and that his desire to photograph the models in a natural setting – without the use of makeup artists, stylist, hairdressers or garments – was imposted by his desire to capture the essence and soul of the cover girls he was used to photographing.
Check out Amnios here.
Watch the video in order to get the full effect of this series.
