Placeholder text

Go to cart

Lost Garden

By Cyril Helnwein

Lost Garden Photography

Lost Garden

By Cyril Helnwein

0 - Default Title
Description
"Lost Garden" is a glimpse into a mystical parallel world. Amidst lush woodlands, Amazonian nude women are absorbed in savage and shamanistic scenes, their faces hidden under the skulls of fierce beasts - bristling with beaks, horns and fangs. Initially the spark for Lost Garden was the concept of creating a series of instant-film photographs shot entirely in a woodland setting; specifically in the 19th century botanical garden and arboretum located at the Helnwein family's Irish estate. Helnwein constructed a series of handmade plaster-of-paris skulls based on extinct and endangered species, sized to fit a human body. The result are visions of a unique, primeval and fantastical world: nude females with animal skulls inhabit a half-wild garden peppered with decayed fountains, mammoth redwood trees, clusters of bamboo, giant rhubarb, overgrown stone steps, towering Rhododendron, swathes of bluebells and foxglove, and stunning topiary sculpted to resemble gothic arches. Alone or in pairs, the women in these photographs are frozen in obscure pagan poses; giving the impression that we are witness to some elemental, ancient magic unfolding. Though Helnwein's works were not intended expressly as a commentary on conservation, Lost Garden does lend itself to this narrative. Initially the skulls Helnwein sculpted were all derived from extinct creatures, however he later also incorporated animals which, though still fairly abundant, presented interesting skeletal features. This decision serves perhaps as a warning that even the animals we take for granted may one day vanish - should we fail our responsibilities as the dominant species of our world.
Product details
Number of Pages:
36
Release Date:
2016-04-13
Publication Date:
2016-04-13
Publisher:
Cyril Helnwein
Languages:
Published: English, Original: English
ISBN10:
1526203103
Buy on Amazon
Currently sold out