Henrik Purienne

aestheticallyskinny

SkinnyGossip Royal
Apr 26, 2020
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HENRIK PURIENNE

I was surprised that a thread for Henrik Purienne didn't exist yet, since I find his photographs always very aesthetically pleasing with a delicate focus on portraying the women's body.
Henrik Purienne is a South African Artist, photographer, film director and founder of fashion publication Mirage. He is focusing on only shooting women with unmade faces, hair and clothing unruly in order to encapsulate the beauty of his subject in her truest form. The only critique that I have about his work, would be that he could shoot more thin models for my taste, rather than average sized girls.

As an internationally-renowned photographer and film director, South African-born Henrik Purienne became known for his female-centric photography and vintage aesthetic.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE FEMALE FORM THAT INSPIRES YOU?

Ultimate power. In alluring packaging.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE OVERALL THEME OF YOUR IMAGES?

"Women." The variation is allegedly "A parallel universe of natural beauty and escapism."


Anja Rubik for Vogue Paris, May 2021

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Lary Muller for Saint Laurent, Livre Rive Droite Éditions, March 2021
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Olivia Vinten for Vogue Paris, September 2019
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Ivanka Smilenko for Matteau F/W 20
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Natasja Madsen for Lui Magazine, Winter 2019/20 Issue
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I’m going through his tag on Instagram since he doesn’t seem to have a profile, my criticisms are that he lacks diversity and seems to shoot a lot of nude models which is kinda suspicious to me. That being said, for a male photographer he does have a sensitive gaze.
 
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First of all, here is his Instagram @softpear
https://instagram.com/purienne?utm_medium=copy_link

I actually agree on your point about diversity and that he could definitely shoot more POC.
However, shooting nudity is in my opinion a form of art, obviously only with the right intentions of capturing the women’s body in a raw and aesthetically pleasing way.

As we all know and have seen, there are countless of beautiful nude editorials in the fashion industry. I wouldn’t just ‘assume’ that he’s being shady based on the fact that he is a man. Otherwise art in general couldn’t exist if we were not able to express our creative visions the way we like it.
 
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First of all, here is his Instagram @softpear
https://instagram.com/purienne?utm_medium=copy_link

I actually agree on your point about diversity and that he could definitely shoot more POC.
However, shooting nudity is in my opinion a form of art, obviously only with the right intentions of capturing the women’s body in a raw and aesthetically pleasing way.

As we all know and have seen, there are countless of beautiful nude editorials in the fashion industry. I wouldn’t just ‘assume’ that he’s being shady based on the fact that he is a man. Otherwise art in general couldn’t exist if we were not able to express our creative visions the way we like it.
Oops, my bad on the bad research. Re: the nudity it’s just that as a photographer myself and even as just someone interested in fashion, I’ve heard way too many stories of male photographers taking advantage of their position as “the artist” to only shoot models nude and his portfolio seems to be lacking in photos of women clothed. It can even be argued that there’s an absence of their faces as a recurring theme in his work, and to me that just seems to only present their bodies as objects. I just wonder why he doesn’t shoot male models or models of color; his vision would apply really well, you know?
 
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I totally understand your point of view especially since you’re working as a photographer as well. There are without any doubt dozens of men working within the creative industry who are abusing their position in order to satisfy their own disgusting desires. And of course, you never truly know their intentions until women are speaking out loud about their experiences.

However, I believe that he is still making a good point of why he is only shooting women and as you’ve mentioned, mainly focusing on their body rather than their faces. In this interview Purienne is saying how women are inspiring him and the way he looks up to them.

http://linda-kovacs-kokw.squarespace.com/henrik-purienne
 
Vogue Russia July 2021

Natasja Madsen - model

IMO his quality of work could improve so much by just choosing a skinner model with a smaller chest.

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