The Ballerina

• Prize
  Bronze in Fine Art/Other
• Photographer
  Raphaëlle Schotsmans
• Agency / Studio
  Raphaëlle Photography
• Technical Info
  Token With A Nikon Z7ii
• Photo Date
  2021 - 2022

In an end-of-the-world setting, Raphaëlle Schotsmans invites us to a metamorphosis: a ballerina evolves, sometimes seeming to bend under the weight of an imaginary hand, sometimes rising into the air. The dancer's lightness is impeded by the rubble that litters the floor, she sheds all that taints her purity, struggling against invisible forces. Does the debris on the floor precede her passage or does it follow her. This duality between destruction and serenity is revealed in the very body of the model, who struggles to leave the dread of her surroundings. Amid chaos, we witness a rebirth.

Raphaëlle Schotsmans was born in Brussels, she has been developing personal projects. Her work and practice are in line with figurative photography, and explore the themes of childhood, identity, and appearances. Inspired by the imaginary world of fantasy and horror movies, she stages her fascination for transgression and the mysteries of the human psyche in her series.Oscillating between fetishism and sado-masochism, her images, through elaborated and highly detailed stages, question the threshold of pain that a human being can inflict on himself for pleasure, sometimes leading to death.