Distorting The Perception of Space
As the 2016 French Open comes to its finale, with Serena Williams meeting the in-form Garbine Muguruza in the blockbuster women's decider on Saturday - today - and top seed Novak Djokovic meeting his second seed 'friend' Andy Murray in the men's decider on Sunday, the athleticism of tennis players has been wonderfully represented here by Joseph Ford. Not a late entry into the Roland Garros event, Ford is a professional photographer and advertising and editorial creator and with clients such as Air Canada, American Express, BNP Paribas, Disney, Drinkaware, Lacoste, Mastercard, McDonalds and Vodafone, it is not surprising that his swimming pool court has SATORI & SCOUT's attention as much as the action on court at Roland Garros.
Based in London and having his first break in 2004 with an advertising campaign for TBWA Paris, Ford has worked in studio, in location, in landscapes and on aerial imagery. From using helicopters, boats, cranes, snorkelling and mountaineering to capture an image, Ford is not unfamiliar with dizzy heights or angles, and this mind-bending tennis match in an abandoned swimming pool in Glasgow (Scotland) is no different.
Requiring the help of seven assistants, two anamorphosis artists, two parkour athletes and a 2.5 kilometers length of blue tape, Ford was commissioned for an editorial in avaunt magazine. Via the mapping out the boundaries of a court and carefully aligning the blue tape lines within the empty pool to appear two dimensional, Ford has been able to intentionally distort the perception of space. Requiring a specific vantage point to reveal the image correctly as to not appear distorted, the composition looks equally impressive in its proper view and also from anywhere else.
The tennis court seemingly spans from the bottom surface of the pool floor to the upper storey of its surrounding and with parkour artists Kevin Francomme and David Banks interacting in the wonderful athletic ways that the sport does, the space really does come alive. Jumping off balconies, scaling walls and running sideways along the pool's pools are all the various movements that the parkour artists made, each truly completing this dynamic composition. Discover more about the artist's work at JosephFord.net.
Photography credit : JosephFord.net