Barbie Dolls Like You’ve Never Seen Them

















How do you deconstruct the classic beauty of a traditional Barbie doll? One way is to photograph it in black&white with the 19th century collodion technique, just like photographer Hamid Blad did.
Deprived of their blonde-ness and blue-eyed-ness, the dolls look refreshingly different, which is exactly the effect that Hamid Blad was after:
“Barbie dolls are iconic representations of beauty. They’re nothing but beautiful faces on plastic mannequins, artificially smooth and sparkling. When I photograph these dolls, I want them to come to life. I try to humanize them, to give them a real face with imperfections.
This work is founded on a precise process, based on seriality. To obtain such a transformation of my subjects, I use collodion photography. My intention is to be at the forefront of surrealism, thanks to the rich details and the flou of the aesthetics.”
— Hamid Blad
Keep looking...

Tomer Ifrah Visits Astana, Kazakhstan’s Planned Capital City

The Space Between Us — Evan Walsh’s Portraits Test the Expected Boundaries of Male Friendship

FotoFirst — Felipe Romero Tells the Macabre Story of the Bodies Emerging from the Magdalena River

This Is the (Photo) Story of the World’s Biggest Bonfire

Shane Rochelau’s Photobook Reflects on What It Means to Be a White American Man

FotoFirst — Discover Shahrzad Darafsheh’s Book of Photos She’s Been Taking While Fighting Cancer

Introducing Gnomic Book, the #FotoRoomOPEN Juror That Will Publish the Winner’s Work as a Photobook
