Mark Laita · Ceylonese Palm Viper · 2010
The unconventional animal portraits by the American photographer Mark Laita, seem like precious jewels hanging in the Berlin gallery Camera Work. For the first time in Europe the three new series "Sea", "Serpentine" and "Amaranthine" are being shown, in which sea creatures, snakes and birds are portrayed as still lifes.
In order to do so, Laita takes the animals out of their accustomed habitat and photographs them in a purist arrangement with a black backdrop. The only minimally retouched shots reveal the beauty of nature in a breathtaking way, even though some of the motifs are no longer alive.The images of the animal world as an artistic-aesthetic still life is reminiscent of promotional photography. No wonder really, as the L.A.-based commercial photographer has been responsible for photo campaigns for clients like Mercedes-Benz, Visa and adidas, as well as spending ten years of his career doing promotional photography for Apple.
The exhibition can be seen until 14 April. Further information at www.camerawork.de
Mark Laita • Colored Songbirds • 2005
