Spiked
Category
Fashion
Location
DCC Studios, Hackney Wick London
Gear
Sony 7RMS 24-70mm F2.8 GM
Description
Created during the Monsters Kinc photography workshop at Drawing Cabaret Couture's DCC Studios in East London, this portrait features DIESEL, an extraordinary performance character constructed from 100% leather and adorned with more than 600 gold spikes and studs. DIESEL was conceived as a creature arriving in London 'straight from Hell', with an aesthetic influenced by industrial music, fetish fashion and rock-and-roll performance. Rather than treating the costume simply as fashion, I wanted the photograph to feel theatrical and slightly unsettling, allowing the silhouette, spikes and obscured face to transform the performer into something almost inhuman. The lighting and atmospheric smoke were used to separate the black leather from the background while catching highlights along the hundreds of individual spikes. I deliberately allowed the warmer light behind the figure to dominate the frame, creating the impression of DIESEL emerging through heat and smoke rather than standing within a conventional photographic studio.
Photographer
Brendan McIlhargey
Social Media
Instagram: brendan.mcilhargey.photography
Facebook: Brendan J McIlhargey
Website: https://brendanmcilhargey2026.myportfolio.com/
To limit fraudulent voting, you may only vote once per category per IP address.