Australian photographer Daniel Longo, who is based in Melbourne, and model Angelique Ruscito teamed up for today’s exclusive NAKID feature editorial titled, ‘2 + 2 = 4 & 5‘.
Daniel’s work is concerned with the grotesque body—the body in a state of fragmentation and disorder. This report argues that the grotesque body is a site of both abjection and expression; hence, his artworks explore how these two states intersect. In particular, he is interested in how the grotesque body can be used to reveal the self in material form. To this end, he employs techniques such as distortion, fragmentation and digital manipulation.
“The project’s title, 2 + 2 = 3 & 5, was created whilst researching the grotesque, grappling with the philosophical implications of what I was seeing and not seeing, feeling and not feeling. Two plus two equals four refers to a mathematical equation we automatically know, but, for my argument, two plus two can equal three or five. The artworks produced for this project are representations of the grotesque body and are a reminder that there are always multiple ways of seeing and understanding them. Grotesque bodies are liminal spaces where the grotesque and the uncanny meet. Where deceit meets material outcomes, where 2 plus 2 equals 3 and 5, it becomes a site of contradictions. The bodies that I create are also a site of excess, a place where there are too many limbs and too much flesh; 5. It is also a site of deficiency, a place where there are not enough limbs and not enough flesh; 3. It is an ill-formed and hybrid equation that exists in a state of abjection. There are always multiple viewpoints and no body boundaries that I cannot breach.”
Daniel Longo was born in Geelong/Djilang, Wathaurong Country, in 1990. Longo has always been fascinated by images that provoke a human reaction to the fragmented, distorted, or altered body. The grotesque, uncanny and abjection are deemed critical to his research and practice. So naturally, he is drawn to photography and digital sculpture, where he can manipulate the real into the unreal. In a practice-led approach, the hybrid of utilising a photographic medium and digital sculpture helps facilitate decisions on the abject – ultimately, determining material outcomes. Longo has photographed theatre for many years, influencing the way he stages and lights models for projects. Specialising in chiaroscuro techniques coupled with a love for dark Baroque paintings, an influence of such drips through.
If you love this visual story then show them some love, this is just a glimpse of the amazing stuff they have created – head over to their Instagram below to check out more from this awesome artist and support their creativity and your daily inspiration by following them!
Check out more of Daniel Longo and their work here: INSTAGRAM
