Ripe has just stumbled upon this little gem and we just had to share it! In fact, it's so good we decided to give a drum roll......*Ddddddddddddddddd-Da-De-DUM!*
Ripe presents the mega talented
Lou Ros and we love Lou's deconstructed portraits, with lashings of the self imposed (carefully selected/altered images) glamour of the Internet dating sites participants and just the slightest hum of disturbing. (let's face it, Internet date sites are kinda creepy) Each work is beautiful crafted and expertly executed, Ripe is in love all over again.
Lou:
What about the image we give of ourselves online ? This series examines the ability to hide whilst making believe that we reveal ourselves. I took the example of a dating site and noticed that some members have photos of themselves surrounded by friends or family whose faces are blotted out with white oval masks.
According to the websites rules, you are only allowed to show one person in your picture which is intended to attract your prince charming or your one night stand. I wondered why they hadn't simply taken a photo of themselves alone? Why would someone use a photo where they had to blot out a family member or a friend ? The reason clearly isn't resentment but the desire to show, at any cost, this random photo that makes them feel good-looking.
The need to please on these dating sites enabled me to find compelling images that I wanted to recreate in my painting.
Ahh Lou if only we could have on for the Office!
