YELLOW SNEAKERS  explores the wider potential of portraiture

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Yellow Sneakers explores the wider potential of portraiture by asking what happens when facial features are no longer the dominant aspect of an image.

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The absence of a clearly identifiable face allows the rest of the image to gain importance and breath. The body, pose, composition, negative shapes, texture and mark-making become more visually and interpretatively powerful. Without the face pulling all of our attention, and without the identity of the sitter imposing a fixed narrative, the viewer is given greater freedom to construct their own emotions, thoughts and sense of who this person might be.

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And yet we always ‘see’ someone. Into this open space, we project our own experiences, memories and associations, creating an identity for the figure through what we bring to the image ourselves.

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The work shares the intimacy and attention to the body found in Vandëm’s Family Album collection, where gesture, physical presence and quiet moments become vehicles for exploring relationships and the individual.

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Yellow Sneakers has been sold and is no longer available for acquisition. If you are drawn to this approach to portraiture, Stephanïe Vandëm also undertakes selected bespoke portrait commissions, creating original works from personal photographs and in response to the character and presence of the individual.