| My current series Fallen explores images of childhood perspectives, in which distortions of scale display a dreamy and surrealistic quality. Once familiar landscapes take on an ethereal quality, they evoke a sense of fear and wonder. Some images in the series create a dark tension and others, an uplifting magical realism—both reminiscent of a mythological world. By revisiting areas where I spent time as a child, I intend in the Fallen series, to create magical “dreamscapes” inspired by pre-Raphaelite paintings. |  |
Toby Burrows
My current series Fallen explores images of childhood perspectives, in which distortions of scale display a dreamy and surrealistic quality. Once familiar landscapes take on an ethereal quality, they evoke a sense of fear and wonder. Some images in the series create a dark tension and others, an uplifting magical realism—both reminiscent of a mythological world.
By revisiting areas where I spent time as a child, I intend in the Fallen series, to create magical “dreamscapes” inspired by pre-Raphaelite paintings. I wanted the images to be visually striking. The artwork was intended less to evoke thought and definition, but more to transport the viewer to a moment of childlike wonder. Childhood is a time of honesty and imagination. With fresh eyes we can appreciate the everyday that is so often seen as mundane.
I spend a lot of time location searching and casting. I always travel with a great cast and crew that enjoy the process. I shoot the images on a medium format back on the location in which they appear. I will shoot a “locked-off” background shot to enable us to “brush through” any apparatus from the final image. The figures in the images were never cut out or moved around in the final frame. My choice to shoot all the images “for real” in often remote locations logistically made the shoot challenging, but it also colored the atmosphere of the finished works. We were pulling leeches off of each other in the forest! It felt as though we “lived” the images. I enjoy taking risks, both physically and artistically. Frequently I find stunning images emerge as I photograph subjects from a different or interesting vantage point.
