Vee SpeersBy Beth Self

Some of Vee Speers Photographs

Immortal

Thirteen

The Birthday Party

Parisians

Bordello

Vee SpeersVee SpeersVee Speers was born in 1962 in Australia but has lived in Paris since 1990. She became well known for her unusual portraits. She studied art and photography for QCA in Brisbane. After that she worked for ABC Television in Sydney during the 1980s.

Starting with her daughter, Vee photographed a series of interesting shots that show the journey from childhood into adulthood that grabbed international attention. The Birthday Party series idea appeared at her daughters birthday party. Many of the children in this series are holding objects, these may symbolise their characters or Vee’s character. Her photographs sell for thousands of pounds in different galleries.

Vee Speers’ Work:

•Thirteen

•Immortal

•The Birthday Party

•Parisians

•Bordello

#52 BordelloFACTUAL: This photograph was taken by Vee Speers as part of the Bordello series, a black and white set of photographs.

The CONTEXT: This photographs fits in with its own series and the Parisians because of the picture being black and white. By the way the model is positioned it puts emphasis on her shoulder blade it also means the viewer is interested in the umbrella which she is graciously leaning on.

TECHNICAL: I think this photograph may have been taken with a black and white film camera because it doesn’t look as sharp as some of Vee’s other shots. I definitely think lighting was used because the umbrella looks faded at the bottom.

AESTHETIC: I really like this photograph, I think it will be appealing to both sexes because it is an attractive picture with an obvious and engaging focal point. I like the patterns on the umbrella and the fact that Vee has included the lines on the umbrella which lead into the pale white model. I think black and white is the best choice for this photograph because she is whiter than her surroundings making her the centre of attention.

#1 ParisiansFACTUAL: This photograph was taken by Vee Speers and is the first in the Parisians series of a women called Amanda.

The CONTEXT: This series is based on the “Parisians”, the people in this series were different and eccentric people by the looks of them. They create interesting pictures proving that everyone is different.

TECHINICAL: This photograph could either have been taken with a black and white film camera or with a DSLR camera along with specific lighting against a black studio wall. But I think a DSLR camera will have been used for this photograph because it is fairly recent and Vee would have wanted the best picture, so by taking it in colour she could then chose between that or the black and white edited version.

AESTHETIC: I really like this photograph due to the varied and exciting tattoos on Amanda’s body which are facing the camera. I think these tattoos are very appealing and with the fish sticking out of her hair it creates the fish theme. Amanda is obviously the focal point and this means the viewer can admire her without anything else distracting them.

#30 The Birthday PartyFACTUAL: This unusual and interesting photograph was taken by Vee Speers. This is the 30th picture out of 49 in this series.The CONTEXT: This photograph fits with the Birthday Party series but because of what she is wearing I would of thought it would be part of my favourite series, the Thirteen series. The young girl in this photograph blends into the white background so the dead rabbit she is clutching stands out against the rest of this, in my opinion, great photograph.TECHNICAL: Like Vee’s other photographs I think this would have been taken with a DSLR Camera. I think to make her dress look whiter than it actually is the light would be shining on it. I am pretty sure this photo will have been taken in a studio but it may have been taken in Vee’s house against a white wall.AESTHETIC: I really like this photograph because the contrast between the dark rabbit and the white girl create an eye-catching effect. Her expression conveys an eerie mood, this may also be because she is carrying a dead rabbit. I like the fact that she is holding the rabbit and the fact that she looks quite sad and unhappy because of it.

#16 The Birthday PartyFACTUAL: This picture was taken by Vee Speers, inspired by the birthday party that her own daughter had. This is the 16th picture in the series.The CONTEXT: This photograph fits in with a lot of Vee’s other work, mainly with her Birthday Party series and her Thirteen series because they are all against white backgrounds with the children wearing interesting outfits.TECHNICAL: I think this camera would have been taken on a DSLR camera to get the sharpness, I think the lighting will have been positioned next to and above the child. I think this because of the light reflecting off the object she’s holding and off her dress. AESTHETIC: I like the simplicity of this photograph and the fact that the girl is holding this particular object which is simple yet effective. I like this style of dress because it makes her look quite small and to show that she is just a child. I like her eccentric hairstyle, Vee Speers was going for the Marge Simpson hairstyle. The girls cheek bone is really prominent which gives her face a nice appealing shape.

#3 ImmortalFACTUAL: This photograph was taken by Vee Speers. This is one of the few photographs that is landscape and not portrait.

The CONTEXT: This photograph is the third in the immortal series, this set of photographs has meaningful and dangerous backgrounds which may symbolise the persons life. I think there will be a powerful story behind this particular photograph.

TECHNICAL: I think this photograph will have been taken with a DSLR camera against a studio screen, I think the background will have been added on an advanced editing software. I think some lighting will have been placed around the model as you can see the light reflecting of her skin.

AESTHETIC: I think this photograph is capturing the slave trade, the event which took many black people away from their homes and ruined their lives, and in this case I think this photograph is showing her home being destroyed right behind her. We can’t really see her hands but they may be tied together, ready for her to be taken away. For me and I think many other viewers this is an emotional picture, reminding us of the dark days where racism took over.

#10 ThirteenFACTUAL: This photograph is the 10th in the Thirteen series and was taken by the Australian portrait photographer, Vee Speers.

The CONTEXT: The girl in this photograph is facing a white background which looks the same texture as the bottom half of her stunning dress. Vee uses a white background in many of her photographs and unlike this picture creates contrast. But I still think the girl stands out from her surroundings.

TECHNICAL: I think this photograph will have been taken with a DSLR because it looks like quite a recent picture. I also think this will have been taken in a studio, many of Vee’s photographs look like they have been taken in a studio which I am not so fond of, so when I take a picture inspired by Vee I may take my model outside to change it around.

AESTHETIC: Personally, apart from it being against an artificial background I love this photograph. I adore the models dress and the flowers which fall around her shoulders. Her facing the wall may be symbolising that she has no where to go and I like the fact that you can only see the back of her.

This is Vee Speers, the famous photographer from Australia. Her unusual photos grabbed lots of attention and they are now selling for thousands of pounds.

“I don’t like to follow the crowd.I like to seduce, with images that are at once disturbing and beautiful,but leaving a space for the viewer to enter my world.My portraits combine elements which evoke conflictingemotions that can surprise the viewer, telling a story that is somewherebetween fantasy and reality, the obvious and the unexpected.”

I really like this quote because I think it describes her theme of photographs very well and how the viewer sees and interprets the picture.She considers her photos well, we know this because she wants her photographs to tell a story. She says herself her pictures are disturbing but beautiful.

I used the CV page on Vee Speer’s website to try and figure out the date in which she published her photographs. I put them in chronological order by looking at these dates. In 2002 it talks about the Bordello series, so I put this first because it is the oldest and then later on at the top of the list it talks about the Thirteen series so I put this last. The second oldest series by looking at this is the Parisians then the Birthday Party and then the Immortal series. This page was very helpful to me in trying to figure out the chronological order of her photography.