Cell Gallery:
ICONS Works by Dakota Dimson Photography series that focuses on cultural Iconography and the aspiration for fame.
I have always loved the large orchestrated works of Nick Knight, Annie Leibovitz and David LaChappelle and would very much like to work within the same vein as them. They’re known for photographing celebrities for magazines or websites in a grand and ethereal fashion. Obviously me being a student I do not have a large quantity of famous people for me to photograph, so I was a little cheeky and dressed up my models as recognizable icons. I created studio environments that would represent the icon, had my model wear an outfit that I styled which represented the icon’s fashion and included props that pertain to the icons aesthetic. I chose a range of icons that would showcase a wide array of cultures; Kurt Cobain, Mike Tyson, Andy Warhol, Anna Wintour and musician Tyler, The Creators fictional character Igor. The more I developed this project I started to realize how personal it is. Every icon I chose inspires me in my own life. I look up to these people and aspire to become like them within my own practice. The aspiration of celebrity is a very common thing, everyone looks up to someone and being a celebrity shows some form of greatness which would suggest that several people look up to and even worship these public figures. With the idea of worship and icons I created a final piece for this series, I recreated Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper with my chosen icons around the table.