Surreal Portraits by Aisha Zeijpveld.

Aisha Zeijpveld is an Amsterdam-based photographer with an exciting portfolio of conceptual portraiture. She works as a freelancer for a variety of commercial magazines, while continuously pursuing her personal work – which, by the way, I believe to be the best way to truly develop as a creative. A balance of naked reality and distinct surrealism is extensive throughout her works, featuring soft coloured backdrops with interrupted and edited subjects. Her images shift the reality, sometimes quite boldly and other times really softly and subtly, making us always look more than once. She aims for the absurd, allowing her photographs to be posited on the interface of reality and dream-world, while always maintaining a sense of clarity. The artist’s use of watercolour-like layers, crumpled canvas textures, tilted mirrors, unusual props and materials suggest a multiple printing and shooting process. The liquid melting backdrops and cunning photographic create the illusion of morphing bodies.

Just a side note: Aisha does all her editing by hand. That means no photoshop, no easy tricks, just scissors and whatever material she needs to create the surreal effect she wants. She sketches onto the photographs, outlining the figure in an unusual way, whilst modifying shapes into something slightly different. These portraits are a rare example of conceptual yet highly accessible photography. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t impressed.

[Images courtesy of Aisha Zeijpveld.]