Ilex Black
- Date: c. 1994
- Medium: 35mm color film, digitally refined
- Format: Proofs only
[catalog entry]
Ilex Black is a photographic series that delves into themes of desire, exposure, and erotic symbolism. Conceived as a conceptual counterpoint to the earlier series Ilex White, which treated the body as sculptural and emotionally distant, Ilex Black embraces a darker, more intimate register—both visually and thematically aligned with the charged aesthetics of seduction and control.
Shot on 35mm color film and later digitally refined, the photographs feature stylized portraits and body studies that employ dramatic lighting, blur, and shadow to evoke a heightened emotional atmosphere. Fishnet textures, red-lipped mouths, bound wrists, and obscured gazes populate the series, presenting the body as both subject and cipher. Some images lean into theatricality, others into discomfort—intentionally blurring the line between performance and vulnerability.
The series grapples with the aesthetics of sexuality while refusing resolution, staging desire not as a fixed object but as a fragmented and performative condition. It is a work that examines how images of the body, particularly the sexualized body, are shaped through visual codes—sometimes revealing, sometimes concealing.
Though never fully realized, the existing proofs mark a significant tonal shift within the artist’s early photographic practice.
Digitally refined proofs from the unfinished project Ilex Black. These test images represent a work in progress and were never part of a finalized edition.
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