Oli Sansom: The Grain in High and Low

A Parallel Planets piece by Unknown

At the rear of elegance is a pepper of grit, a dash of dirt, and a spine of mystery. Because sometimes not all that glitters is gold – it could be grain lying behind plush poses, captured in dust and century-old negatives. Who could have thought it was highly potential? Oli Sansom did.

Coming from the city of Melbourne, Oli digressed from capturing the green valleys of Australia. Armed with a Yashica TLR and several medium format cameras, the former graphic designer took a bunch of expired negatives, some 50 years old, and put them in excellent use. Tackling portraits of high-fashion and good ol’ street menace, Oli was able to produce photographs that are clever and gorgeous at the same time.

We indulge in a couple of his black and white photo series – Two Weeks in New York, a picturesque diary of his visit in the Big Apple and Sosume AW/13, a commissioned project for the sophisticated Australian clothing line. Both differ in theme and moment but still same in splendour and skill.

Two Weeks in New York features candid images shot in the busy streets of Manhattan. Workers, peddlers, and numerous photographic landscapes make this series a classic bite of the city. Some appear humorous while several emerge gripping and jaw-dropping, ace to the point of showing what’s real. From main avenues to suspicious alleys, Two Weeks in New York is a visual feast.

Subsequently we hover to Sosume AW/13, a gallery that drifts away from the announced latter. Graceful, theatrical and timed, Oli did an outstanding job in capturing high fashion through this tasteful collection. Notice the grain and play of light that complement the photographs’ monochromatic textures and hues – an assemblage of big-ticket buds that aim to sell and inspire accordingly.

But hold your bore because these aren’t the only images that caught our attention. Oli Sansom’s portfolio is an orgasm of photographs with portraiture as a specialization.  Music videos and documentaries have also become part of his work, a promising forte in the future

See more of Oli Sansom’s work in his website and Facebook page.