The movements of Butoh, a Japanese dance and movement art, to unveil the stages of our life in John Spyrou’s photographic series
I present a series of images through a voyeuristic perspective examining the stages of life that unfold before us. Inspired by the movement and dance art of Butoh, I have explored how our bodies are not a symbol of strength, but of weakness. The photographs were shot in December of 2020, and so I wanted to show how our health and society can be compromised by something as small as a virus.
Butoh dance form
These images are a study of the energy of collaboration throughout one’s existence and how one’s life can be determined within distinct phases – Birth, Mimicry, Self-Discovery, Commitment, Legacy and Death. I wished to create unsettling images that challenge the use of perspective and space and that demand for the viewer to analyze each photograph’s movement and dimensions. I have used only analog mechanisms to create the distortions and freneticism in the images along with the talent of three Butoh performers and one model.
John Spyrou photographer
New York based, self-taught photographer. His work consists predominantly of portraits in which he strives to create different layers for the viewer to discover. He shoots mostly using film.
Photographer: John Spyrou
Stylist Jessette
Talent Will Atkins, Azumi O E, Margherita Tisato
Make-up Jas Doyle
Hair Jenni Iva Wimmerstedt
Stylist Assistant Ellen-Claire Newell, Brianna Donato
Shot on location in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
