“I used to say I had never truly ‘looked’ until it was through a lens… life was different, more beautiful, more sad, and extreme in every sense of the word. People mattered, how they sat, how they slept, how they looked when they thought no one else cared. I fell in love with the faces of strangers and photography gave me a new purpose…”
–Kirsty Mitchell
Kristy Mitchell is a consummate storyteller, and her stories unfold in the world of photography. Immersed in loss and pain, she found respite through a camera lens, and the people she captured reflected her sadness. This English artist is the mastermind behind these stunning and fantastical images that pay homage to her mother. The passing of her mother was the driving force that helped her redirect her sadness into art, beauty, and most of all, magic.
This fashion designer who bloomed under the careful watch of Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chayalan found a new calling in photography. From 2001 up to 2007, she enjoyed a successful career in an international fashion label, but everything came to a standstill when her mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008.
When Mitchell’s mother, Maureen, passed away, months would pass before the artist would begin to outline her masterpiece. She began to construct a fantasy world that blotted out the real world. It was a safe haven that honored the many bedtime stories her mother would tell her when she was a child and a place where she could return to her dreams and relive precious memories.
Her fantasy wonderland honors the spirit of Maureen and the sophistication of haute couture. Magic and beauty are the main protagonists in her work. The artist transformed her sadness into idyllic landscapes brimming with exquisite colors, surrealist backgrounds, and textures.
There is an absolute devotion and attention to detail behind each of her images. She patiently waited for the seasons to wane and flourish, so she could capture the perfect palette of colors. Every portrait is completely natural, and nothing has been altered digitally.
In the past few years, this intimate and small world has grown at an unprecedented rate. Her project has been celebrated and recognized by noted international media companies like Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue Italia, The Daily Mail, BBC News, MSN, Huffington Post, among others.
These images are tangible pieces of her dreams, a glorious awakening of the senses. Her world is chaotic and stunning, a feast of colors where we see pristine snow covered in flowers and lakes fired up with the colors of a red sunset. Mitchell teaches us that rebirth is possible. Photography is not only an artistic discipline; it is a life experience that gives you the power to etch your own life’s story. If we lose things in life we held so dearly, perhaps like Mitchell, we will find the perfect medium to bring them back, or at least, bring back the feelings we so cherished.
Source:
Kristy Mitchell
