Fashion Single image Bronze Winner

Den Cops Artist

Den Cops took his bronze-winning image last year. He explains: “It originally came from a b/w pencil drawing a friend of mine did. The hard work was finding all the accessories: while the final photograph is my own interpretation, I still wanted to keep the essence of the drawing. I wanted to create something more commercial compared to my usual work, and fashion seemed to be the logical choice.”

Den sees his photography as a passion rather than a career. He trained at Saint-Luc Institute of Fine Arts in Belgium. Competitions like Fashion: Chapter 3 are a “serious boost to one's confidence, and the win will make me want to produce more (and hopefully better) work,” he says. “My images are not commercial, nor do I see them as great art piece. They are just images that I have in my head or see in my dreams and I need to bring them to life. If I could draw, I would, but instead I use light and existing object to re-create what's in my head.”

Some years ago, Den did a reportage on a troupe of transformists and the work still remains amongst his favourite. “The photographs were taken backstage during their shows,” he says. “It was very interesting to see the amount of work which went on as a man transformed into a woman. The dressing room was a very cramped vaulted space, full of mirrors. It was quite a technical challenge for me.”

Den’s next challenge is to experiment with old techniques. “I believe photography has lost some of its credibility and value because it is easily accessible nowadays," he says. "Because of its reproducibility, it's not a one-off item like a painting would be. Prints produced with alternative techniques are more unique.”

Picture caption: Purple Genie