Semester B: Discourse Work
During the 90’s, fashion photography was seen and shown as something glamorous, and which Day knew from being a model herself, was not true. With Day’s images she wanted to show the reality and break away from those traditions, and with her new way of fashion photography, it did just that. Her informal approach to her models and shoots left her images looking raw and almost candid. But it wasn’t only this that shocked her audience; it was her choice of models. Known for popularising the “heroin chic” look, Day used very thin female figures. This caused a lot of controversy and Day became subject to accusations to promoting anorexia and drugs.
These are two shots of Kate Moss taken in 1993 at her flat in London
Day then stopped her involvement within the fashion world, and then started to concentrate on documentary. Photographing her friends constantly and through all different kinds of situations, she continued with her hard-hitting style. Yet her images were now becoming increasing more brutal and through her intimacy with her friends, she was able to not only to focus on their drug abuse but also show a lot of emotion within her images. This particularly relates to her later work which she did with her boyfriend when she found out about her brain tumour. Her now life threatening illness gave Day something else to focus on and document.
Two examples from her book "Diary"
Since then, Day has briefly returned to fashion photography. She has carried on with her distinctive style and is something that she remains unapologetic for. I think she described it well when she said, “Photography is getting as close as you can to real life, showing us things we don’t normally see. These are people’s most intimate moments, and sometimes intimacy is sad.”1
"I believe there can be no true beauty without decay"2 - Corinne Day
1. Frost, C. (2004). BBC Four Documentaries: Corinne Day Diary. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/corinne-day.shtml (Accessed: 01 April 2008).
2. Bright, S. (2007). Faces Of Fashion. London: National Portrait Gallery Publications, pp. 75.
Image Credits:
Day, C. (Unknown). Corinne Day: Exhibitions. [Online] Available at: http://www.corinneday.co.uk/exhibitions.php (Accessed: 01 April 2008).
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