Messing with the Real: Trish Morissey

Going even further than WassinkLundgren, the Irish artist Trish Morissey in her series Front places herself in what are otherwise 'natural' situations.

When I first saw this work, I didn't quite twig to what was going on. When I figured it out, I just about wet my pants.

Trish Morissey, 'Sylvia Westbrook, August 2nd, 2005', from Front

Trish Morissey, 'Heather Hancock, August 28th, 2006', from Front

Trish Morissey, 'Rachael Hobson, September 2nd, 2007', from Front

Trish Morissey, 'Hayley Coles, June 17th, 2006', from Front

Trish Morissey, 'Donna Plant, August 21st, 2005 ', from Front

Yes, that is the artist herself, in each photograph, playing the role of a real woman who was sitting in that same spot before she arrived with her camera. She takes on each female role as completely as possible, including wearing her clothes and posing with her family as she actually would.

How cheeky! This would have been quite a fun project to make.

Morissey doesn't have much of a web presence, but her website has a few links where you should be able to find some more examples of her work.

Messing with the Real: WassinkLundgren

Another way of intervening in photographs of the real is to invoke performance in an otherwise 'natural' setting - in other words, to create an event for the camera which is, in its own way, real.

These photographs come from an ingenious body of work by a Dutch photographer who goes by the name of WassinkLundgren, called Empty Bottles. Working in China, the artist placed empty plastic bottles on the street, set up his large format camera and waited for the bottles to be picked up by passing scavengers:

WassinkLundgren, from Empty Bottles

WassinkLundgren, from Empty Bottles

WassinkLundgren, from Empty Bottles

The photographs speak not only to economic and social concerns, but also to wider photographic practice. Are these straight photographs? Were they made ethically? Does that matter?

WassinkLundgren has a mad website, which you absolutely must check out here.