Photographer Kourtney Roy Makes Eerie Self-Portraits In Desolate Yet Dramatic Locations – Design You Trust

Photographer Kourtney Roy Makes Eerie Self-Portraits In Desolate Yet Dramatic Locations


Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian

Kourtney Roy makes eerie self-portraits in desolate yet dramatic locations – with wigs and wardrobe straight out of 1950s melodrama. In these shots, from her “Enter as Fiction – California” series, she plays characters caught in desolate, often abandoned settings.

More info: Kourtney Roy


Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian

Roy, who was born in Ontario and lives in Paris, has appeared as everything from beauty queen to housewife in her kitsch self-portraits. In Enter as Fiction, she adds an element of mystery by rarely showing her face.


Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian

Roy was named after Tom Courtenay (“a British actor my mom really liked”). Films are hugely influential on her images, particularly 1950s melodramas, for their colour and decor. She enjoys suggesting characters who seem locked in an ordinary existence, dreaming of more colourful times.


Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian

The settings at first seem inspirational but, under the punishing rays of the sun, come to feel harsh and devoid of hope.


Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian

When she was starting out in Paris, Roy became influenced by Guy Bourdin, whose fashion photography contained strange, often haunting narratives. She liked the idea of “making little stories” in a single frame.


Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian

“I am drawn to anonymous scenes that are often overlooked,’ she once said. ‘It’s where the magic happens”.


Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian

Roy initially wanted to study painting and cites Renaissance tableaux as an influence on her photographic work.


Kourtney Roy/Galerie Catherine et André Hug/The Guardian

In the early days, Roy would pose with pieces of meat, sometimes bringing home animals she found dead in the street and placing them between her legs. As this shot shows, she has not lost her ability to disturb.

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Oh, Design You Trust,' our brand new Facebook page! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

Pawel Gulewicz Creates Anonymous Street Photography Which Asks Who The People We Pass By Every Day Really Are
Awesome Behind The Scenes Photos From The Making Of "Halloween"
Photographer Uses 160-Year-Old Camera To Take Eerily Beautiful Portraits
Brooklyn-Based Photographer Hannah La Follette Ryan Has, For The Past 5 Years, Captured The Hands Of Passengers On The NYC Subway
Caterpillars: Striking Photos by Samuel Jaffe
Atmospheric Retro Images Of The USSR As Photographed By American Professor Thomas T. Hammond
This Artist Creates Dazzling Realistic Portraits Of Pictures In Pictures
The Best & Winning Entries To The iPhone Photography Awards 2018
Photographer Blair Bunting Powerfully Captures Awe-Inspiring Shots of Trains in Motion
New Entries For The 2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer Of The Year Contest
Evocative Photographs Of London In 1969
Remarkable Behind-The-Scenes Photos From 'Back To The Future' That Will Bring You Back To The '80s
Before And After: Lithuanian Photographer Showed How Motherhood Changes Women
2014 National Geographic Photo Contest, Week 9, Part 4
Photographer Captures American Apparel Ads in their Gritty Natural Environment
The Artistic Selfies Of Ivanka Danisova, Slovakian Lady Born With Half Face
London in 1982: Among the Sloane Rangers, New Wavers And Everyday People
Russian Photographer Captures Stunning Aerial Photos Of The Magic Pink Lagoon In Western Australia
Incredible Photos Show LA’s Notorious Crips Gangsters Posing With Drugs And Guns In The 90s
South African Leopard Catches Sandgrouse
A Couple Find The Exact Locations From Movies And Films And Do Their Best To Recreate Scenes From Them
Marvelous Female Portrait Photography By Nathaniel Gerdes
“Workwears”: We Are Not Our Jobs, A Photo Project By Bruno Fert
100 Homeless People Were Given Disposable Cameras And These Are Some Of The Amazing Results