Viviane Sassen meshes colour, light and reflections in this illusive series

Date
20 August 2014

Photographer Viviane Sassen has crafted an aesthetic which operates way beyond the traditional confines of her medium. She’s previously made work which would be considered fashion photography, for example, but in which the clothes featured never seem to be the driving force behind the image. Similarly, her latest series Axiom toys with notions of light, colour and illusion in a way which seems to lean towards graphic art, but each image meshes the three elements together so effortlessly that you scarcely have time to ponder the idea behind it.

The photographs which make up Axiom are densely layered; horizon over sky, perspex over horizon, reflection over perspex and so on and so forth until you’re not entirely sure what you’re looking at, so rich is the juxtaposition of sharp and blurred, vibrant and muted. Who’d have though that several sheets of coloured plastic, a couple of large mirrors, long stretch of rich terracotta sand and smart use of the sun could make for such an effortlessly illusive effect? This is fine art masquerading as photography, but when it comes to Viviane we’d be foolish to expect anything less.

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Viviane Sassen: Axiom

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Viviane Sassen: Axiom

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Viviane Sassen: Axiom

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Viviane Sassen: Axiom

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Viviane Sassen: Axiom

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Viviane Sassen: Axiom

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Viviane Sassen: Axiom

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About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

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