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Pink Dreams (#2), Miami Shores, 2021
von • by Dean West
www.deanwest.com

Dean West, born in Australia in 1983 and graduate of the renowned

Queensland College of Art, now lives and works in Miami Beach.

The photographer became known for his elaborately staged

works, which transform everyday scenes into a surreal, almost

theatrical reality. His works, which show people in different living

spaces and environments, combine documentation and fiction,

reality and staging. Inspired by artists such as Stan Douglas and

Jeff Wall, whose photographs are also characterized by precisely

constructed compositions, and the paintings of David Hockney
and Edward Hopper, West also draws on influences from film

and advertising. These influences are reflected in the flawless

aesthetics of his images, which often look as if they were taken from

a film script. He plays with multi-layered states of consciousness

through silent dialogue between the elements in his pictures and

plays with architectural elements in a striking way. In one picture,

a man in a cowboy hat stands topless in front of a pool, holding a

yellow lasso. An alligator is swimming in the water. Another of his

photographs shows a domestic helper resting in her pink work

dress on a sun lounger in front of the pool. The pink façade of the

house is intensely reflected in the water. What these works have

in common is a subliminal sense of unease, created by details

such as the predator in the pool or the loneliness of the figures.

West has worked with internationally renowned brands such

as Disney, Samsung and MTV, among others, and has received

numerous awards for his work. His photographs, which can be

found in famous museums worldwide as well as in important

collections – including that of Sir Elton John – reflect the zeitgeist

of our thoroughly staged present.