Antoine d’Agata

D’Agata’s portraiture style is atmospheric, experimental, and honest. It’s easy to see the influences of Larry Clark and Nan Goldin in his work, both in his subject matter and the way he photographs it. When taking portraits, he captures moments full of emotion and energy, instead of aiming for beauty and aesthetic. The pieces I was drawn to in this series were mostly portraiture, as that’s what my project is focused on, and I like the experimental approach he has to it. He uses a long exposure time to transform the human body into something unrecognisable. I like how this technique captures movement and uses it to create new shapes, where you can sometimes still see through the cracks to the person underneath. He also has some more straightforward, albeit vulnerable, portraits of women in scary situations, living on the outskirts of society.

Although I like d’Agata’s style, I don’t think he’s someone I can look into further for my project. His work has a much more vulnerable and sexual tone than I’m going for, but I do think I’ll experiment with more long exposure portraiture in future projects. I really love his way of capturing movement, so I’ll keep his technique in mind.