PORTRAIT
The Tony Kelly style is unique and incomparable. Raw, but also sophisticated. Fireworks in full HD, sparkling colors and colorful backfires, a rain of acids, it jumps in the face. Its trademark: sex, stereotypical men, clichéd women, ferocious colors and a sharp black humor… In a rampage of testosterone, botox and glitter, it screams and it swears. Tony is a provocateur, and it doesn't just show with these overtly sexual scenes.
At first glance, the style may seem crude and vulgar, it is the intention of the photographer, to exceed the limits of good taste, to report ugly emotions and interactions, to rave about the obscene. Its dynamic images made in California. Yet Tony Kelly is an Irish photographer born in Dublin in 1975. He started out in a group of independent newspapers, covering places that no one wanted. From civil conflicts in Rwanda to the war in Afghanistan, he spent eight years covering areas of armed conflicts, before changing direction and trying his hand at fashion photography while keeping this exacerbated eye for rendering emotions and the pulpit. Now and as he tends to recall, he captures spontaneity like a voyeur admiring a scene.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
In a few words, how would you describe your style?
Like a perfect summer day on the Côte d'Azur. Full of color, both hot and fresh, sexy and very entertaining.
How did you start photography?
I worked as a press photographer until I was 18. I was as passionate and motivated as I am today. A lot of work and great determination opened doors for me, doors I knocked on without success when I started.
One of your favorite images?
A blanket I made with Amanda Booth sitting on the nose of a Boeing 737 in the Mojave Desert.
What do you like about the people you photograph?
I drown in people who have this "je ne sais quoi", this little something, this glint in their eyes, this madness, a mischievous or mischievous look. That, combined with a beautiful physique, catches my eye. There are few models who have this magic. I see so many that are beautiful but don't transmit anything special, that have no energy, which is essential for me! The numerous photos of Helmut Newton with Charlotte Rampling personify what I have just said.
- Find the continuation of Tony Kelly dansNormal Magazine #1 -