Woman with a Flower Head - Salvador Dali 1937
Every once in a while something captures us so powerfully that no matter how much time passes, that thing never bores us. It may be a piece of music, a photograph or in this instance, an artwork.
I’ve had a print of this artwork for more than 20 years. I remember buying it from a print store in Nottingham while looking for Christmas presents for other people. It immediately caught my imagination and I spared no expense in getting it custom framed. It’s been above three different fireplaces now as I’ve moved house.
To this day, I’m still not fed up with looking at it. As Dali prints go, it’s probably one of his more simple pieces, yet to me, I’m able to read so much into it. There’s a large negative space which allows your mind to wander, then apart from the main protagonist, there’s plenty of small details to pick up and ponder each time you view it.
I have such an obsession with this image that I decided to create an homage in photographic form. The problem with this, is that I’m a bit of a perfectionist, a control freak almost when creating such images. Which sounds great, but it does somewhat delay creation, especially when it’s just me trying to pull all the strings required to make it work.
Clearly, there are some aspects to this image that I can’t do alone. The dress for example had to be handmade, so I enlisted the amazing costume and dress maker, Masato Jones. The headpiece was another consideration. Finding a ‘frame’ to load the flowers onto took longer than expected. I eventually opted for a fancy dress astronaut helmet. But then I don’t have the expert knowledge to choose and attach the suitable flowers to the helmet. This is where I brought in the expertise of Louise Pugh, florist and all round creative genius.
Visit my print store here to get your own copy!
Photographer Neil Shelby Long creating his homage to Dali on Black Rock Sands / Morfa Bychan
Masato Jones
I knew of Masato through social media. A friend was talking about him and I joined in the conversation. I bought a t-shirt from Masato’s Etsy store and the rest is history as they say.
Masato is one of those fashion creators who’s as humble as they come. But when you discover some of the designers he’s worked for, and I mean some of the worlds most prominent designers, you’d think he’d be shouting it from the rooftops. However, it’s precisely because of this discreet demeanour, that Masato, as an independent, still designs and makes bespoke outfits for some serious celebrities, the kind of celebrities who require the attention to be on them, not on “who are you wearing?”
A couple of email exchanges later, I visited Masato’s studio to ensure we were on the same wavelength and check some fabric samples he’d ordered in. After our initial meeting, the true brilliance of Masato’s skill became evident. Within a couple of days, he’d drawn and cut a paper pattern and assembled it on a mannequin. This true master of pattern cutting had made a thing of beauty from paper…paper! A couple of minor detail changes were agreed and He set about creating the real thing. I’d already decided that I didn’t want an exact copy of Dali’s dress. In the image, the woman is wearing a white dress, a wedding dress maybe? But I’d got a couple of location ideas for the images and white certainly wouldn’t fit all of them, so I asked for it to be black. This was to enhance the silhouette of the woman wearing it, elongating her features to make her more ‘Dali esque’. Black would also compliment or separate her from the background.
The pleasing thing about Masato making this dress, was it was also something to challenge him. The material we’d chosen was a new experience for Masato to make a complete dress from. He had to call a fellow dress maker to find the best way to stitch the material, as it’s a very fine elasticated mesh material. Every day is a school day if you allow it to be.
Louise Pugh
With the dress now well under way, it was time to consider how the headpiece would be created. Again, I’m fairly competent at a lot of things, but floristry and combining that with making a replica of Dali’s flower head… it was time to call in another expert.
My best friend Nick, who you’ll have read about in a previous blog entry (you have read my other blog entries yes?), knew of a florist he’s trusted many times. I messaged Louise, who I’m sure questioned if I was being serious or not, “You want to encase a woman’s head in flowers? Really?” I mean, I can’t blame her for questioning my ideas, Louise’s usual requests are for beautiful bouquets or stunning table displays.
As it turned out, not only is Louise the most lovely and patient human going, she’s also incredibly resourceful and talented. I’ve created a video about the creation of this image too and in it you’ll see Louise prepping and starting the work of attaching the flower heads to the base. But Louise is such a perfectionist, that after I’d gone, she unstuck them all and started over again, because that’s her aim with work, get it perfect, or it doesn’t get seen. By simply studying an image of Dali’s work, Louise suggested and obtained samples of the silk flowers she thought would fit. Her choices were perfect and the result looks amazing. I couldn’t have found better creative collaborators if I’d tried.
Creating the image
The initial location, due to certain travel restrictions, had to be in the UK, Wales to be precise. As I’ve said previously, I wanted the images of my Woman with Flower Head to be an homage, not an exact replica. In the original image, Dali has placed the woman in a desert environment, with lots of strange little details about her. The land and sky are both a sand colour giving a perspective of infinity, although there is a drawn in horizon line. My location then had to show space, but as you probably know, the UK isn’t known for it’s deserts.
Luckily, knowing Wales quite well, I knew I could find a beach big enough to give the correct perspective of space and also meet other requirements. Black Rock beach or Morfa Bychan, in Gwynedd is ideal for this kind or concept. Large, flat, with a distant view of the Llyn Peninsula, you can also drive on to it, which is incredibly useful when you’ve got photographic equipment, lighting, a large flower head and a model who needs to keep out of the early morning chill to get changed fairly discreetly.
Visit my print store here to get your own copy!
For the photographers out there, I created the image with my Fujifilm GFX100s. To separate the model from the background, I used two Elinchrom ELB500’s with large diffusing softboxes attached. One light was placed close and to the right of the model, feathering across her front. A second light, was near me facing directly at her, just to lift some of the darker shadows.
The weather was perfect for my image. A light, diffusing cloud layer softened the morning sun and the sea gave a painterly haze to the distance. If you’re thinking of shooting on a beach, the other thing to consider is the tide times. I’d already used the ‘My Tide Times’ app, to ensure a low tide for our shoot day. Not only to ensure the equipment stayed dry, but also to give as best a ‘desert’ look with the tide being a good distance away.
Let’s be honest, sometimes serendipity shines her light upon us photographers, and that morning she graced me with her presence. I’d already decided I wasn’t going to replicate exactly all the small details Dali has included in his work, but the danger of not having anything other than the model, was it could have been a very sterile image. Oddly enough, we were getting quite a few curious ‘looks’ from dog walkers and early morning hikers enjoying the beach… can’t imagine why??? But just as I was taking a series of shots, a guy and his dog walked though the background of my frame… and it was just what the final image needed.
And so, presented here is the initial version of my ‘Woman with Flower Head’. If I can secure finances, my aim is to take the dress and headpiece to Iceland, to a black beach and create a completely different look with the same image ingredients. Let’s see if we can make that happen soon.
I’d like to say the biggest of thank you’s to Masato, Louise and especially Nick & Leanne Williams for their contributions to this concept. It would never have happened without you. Xxx
Watch the video HERE
Neil Shelby Long’s version of Salvador Dali’s Woman with a Flower Head
