Mclean Stephenson’s gritty and erotic Neo-Victorian photographs say as much about him as they do about his subjects.
Having only picked up a camera five years ago Stephenson’s rise on the photography scene in Australia has been meteoric. Self taught and obviously passionate, energetic and intense he brings a new impetus to the art of photography, his pictures a wonderful example of what film can do, how the process and development of a film negative can bring a layered depth and earthy humanity to each image.
Much of Stephenson’s work is centred around band shoots and album covers but his portraits give us a much better grasp of what he is capable of, his raw aesthetic turning an ordinary image into a compelling and sensitive picture that is imbued with a personality and an affection, a sexy eroticism that creates a frisson in every photograph.
These are pictures that have a definitive stamp on them. They are the work of a unique artist who is still learning and is determined to make his mark, illuminate his own space. And for that we can only be thankful for. Here’s what he had to say in an interview on Riot Of Perfume about his process:
I shoot everything on film, 35mm, 120, large format negative, and large format Polaroid. When I shoot I will usually have around five or six cameras that I rotate. I develop everything, often destroying the apartment. Then I do various things to the negatives depending on how I want them to look. I might varnish them or soak them in gin or burn them. Sometimes I write on them. I often cut negatives up and stick them back together with other negatives. Sometimes I do nothing to them. I then scan the film into Photoshop and grade the images. I never shoot digital. It has to be film. But I have no qualms about digitally manipulating the imagery. I’m not a purist. I can just do more with film – I can abuse it better.