Mark Pillai was the photographer behind Beyonce‘s recent feature for L’Officiel. Pillai is an established photographer with vision known for his work with Givenchy, Joop, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Dazed & Confused and Elle. Just to list a few.
PHOTOS: Beyonce’s African Queen
The German born, Paris based photographer has an eye for the avant-garde. He mixes movement, color and objects in his photographs. A prime example is Pillai’s ‘Patchwork’ shoot with Dazed & Confused in 2008. In the issue, models are photographed in varying angles in an array of floral prints placed around their heads and limbs, creating a disorienting image. Pillai’s collaboration with Raf Simons was equally stunning, blending sci-fi and punk with street wear.
‘i think of myself as a fashion photographer but don’t want to be limited,’ Pillai told GlobalGrind in an email from Paris this afternoon. ‘ I love working with body shapes and movements. I am very inspired by contemporary dance.’
On his shoot with Beyone, Pillai said this: ‘It was one of the most beautiful experiences in my career. The stylist did a fantastic job as did everyone else. it was easy for [us] to access the theme ‘African Queen’ – and she was dancing throughout the whole shoot!’
Pillai’s dream subject? ‘The company of the great choreographer, Pina Bausch!’
A gallery of some of Pillai’s most arresting work can be seen on the following pages.
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