Lars V. Andersen is a Danish self-taught photographer and the owner of Lavarockphoto.dk, a one-man project. Specializing in portraiture and heavy metal concert photography, his images have an alternative and mysterious quality, which is especially evident in the “Dark Portraits” category on his website. Collaborating with various models, makeup artists, and prop suppliers, Andersen creates […]
Category: Dark Art
The Skeleton Queen: Spooky Coastal Photoshoot by Rob Woodcox
In the days before Halloween, Portland-based photographer Rob Woodcox released “The Skeleton Queen,” a portrait series that tells the story of a woman and her harrowing journey to find love. A group of Woodcox’s friends gathered on the beach, where artist Chelsea Sinks painted their bodies like skeletons. Dressed in dark lace and torn rags, […]
Lost Innocence, Enduring Resistance: An Interview with Gottfried Helnwein
In a world fractured by the war machines of capitalism and exploitation, it is all-too-easy to feel distant from the stories of violence that pervade our media and political histories. However, as the renowned artist Gottfried Helnwein has shown in his courageous and provocative work, it is extremely difficult to ignore the suffering of a […]
Dark Fantasy and Industrialism in Stefan Gesell’s Otherworldly Portraiture
Stefan Gesell is a Munich-based photographer who composes breathtaking images that shock and seduce the imagination. Mixing dark fantasy imagery with industrialism and science fiction, Gesell uses his experience as a former graphic designer to tell elaborate stories using the lens. Dark, confident, and even tortured figures confront the viewer with tremendous strength, each seemingly […]
Dark Paranormal Femininity: Photography by Nynewe
Nynewe (Michaela Knizova) is a photographer based in Luxembourg who creates ghostly self-portraits capturing what she identifies as “dark paranormal femininity.” In a multi-part series titled “Agast Atera En,” Nynewe documented her travels around Europe using creative portraiture. Posing her body in dark rural landscapes, she acts out original hybrid mythologies, drawing on archetypes and […]
10 Artists Who Have Produced Remarkable Skull Tattoos
As humans, we’re intimately tied to the skull—it’s not only a part of us, but it represents something much greater than ourselves. The ultimate symbol of death; a stark reminder of our own mortality. Throughout history, artists and writers have meditated on this passing with the skull as the introductory point. Shakespeare’s Hamlet famously does […]
Dance and Surrealism in Josephine Cardin’s Self-Portraits
Josephine Cardin is a photographer based in Rochester, New York, whose dreamy portraiture exposes “human themes of loneliness, isolation, melancholy, love, and loss.” Featured here are images from her recent work, all of which are self-portraits. Having trained as a ballet dancer, Cardin incorporates movement, using her body to pose in ways that are indicative […]
Priestess of the Dystopia: The Artwork of Ashley Joncas
Ashley Joncas is a Seattle-based artist and the founder of the multidisciplinary studio énigme. Combining minimalist aesthetics with “deep atmospheric qualities of an ominous color spectrum,” Joncas’ portfolio is a window into a bleak yet beautiful world. Rain-swept horizons and wandering cloaked figures ignite the imagination, producing a somber yet wistful mood. Joncas is an […]
Grotesque, Beautiful Life: Sculptures by Russel Cameron
Note: Contains images that may be considered graphic and disturbing to some readers. Russel Cameron is an American, self-taught artist from Brooklyn, New York, who creates sculptures that are grotesque and profound in their representations of life. With skin-like textures and shapes similar to human body parts, each creation looks deformed and unsettling, devoid of […]
Self-Proclaimed “Creepster” Rachel Dreimiller Has a Gift for Spooky Embroidery
Rachel Dreimiller’s online moniker is “Spooky Ghoul” and she describes herself as a “Gothic Granny” and “creepster.” Her embroidery art is heavy on skulls and bony hands, a juxtaposition that turns a typically homey medium modern and edgy. The artist herself is equally contradictory; along with a love of zombies and Poe, she’s borderline obsessed […]