courtesy: Baker+Hesseldenz Gallery
arts Z
Clio, by Cedric Delsaux
Cedric Delsaux’s Fine Art for Fan Boys by Herb Stratford
French photographer Cédric Delsaux has a history of creating innovative and intriguing images that speak to contemporary life. Born in 1974, he is also a child of pop culture, and his work called the “Dark Lens” series is the perfect blend of commentary about the world we live in today, and the fantasy of sci-fi pop culture, specifically Star Wars. The “Dark Lens” series began in 2011, and a new group of photographs in the series are debuting at the Baker Hesseldenz Gallery this month that couldn’t come at a better time, thanks to the release of the next film in the Star Wars series, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. From the moment that Star Wars debuted in 1977, fans responded to the lived-in, realistic nature of the film’s world. This was a place that was not all shiny and perfect, but one that looked rather used and slightly dirty around the edges. This concession to reality made the story of Star Wars feel more plausible compared to other films of the genre. Delsaux’s large-scale photographic images
take the next step in merging reality and fantasy by placing iconic Star Wars characters and vehicles squarely in our own, slightly dirty and edgy world. A place where often the subjects of the photographs are barely glimpsed through a rain-spattered window or through a fog covering a highway underpass. But make no mistake, this is not just fan art rendered by an obsessed Star Wars groupie. The work is both technically excellent, and also a commentary about life in the early 21st century on Earth. But how, in the world of hair-trigger lawsuits, injunctions and cease-anddesist letters does Delsaux get away with using the intellectual property of Lucasfilm and its new owner Disney? Not only does he get away with it, but the father of Star Wars himself, George Lucas actually penned an introduction to the book that Delsaux produced of the images. Lucas said, “One of the most unique and intriguing interpretations that I have seen is in the work of Cédric u February 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 23