There are many terms used to describe the work of Haris Nukem. Surprisingly, the majority of the time, they are connected to glamour, as if the images of the British artist were just some casual eye candy. But let’s be brutally honest, there are two words to characterize Nukem’s portraiture. Wet and bestial just enjoy sex. But the kind of sex you have in a horror movie, before bleeding to death following the attack of a hot succubus… a bit provocative? Yes, the art of Haris Nukem definitely is. When the photographer first caught the eye of the public, his artwork triggered knee-jerk reactions of violent hate or consuming love. Tattoo community and subcultures are particularly smitten with all the self-made artist because of his routine featuring of nude alternative and tattooed beauties. Rough, trashy and insolent the first pictures of Nukem perfectly portray millennial and their extreme attitude. An ultra sexual model of Fight Club. His personality back then, reminded me of this punk and controversial aesthetics of Terry Richardson.
The London-based photographer, designer, and filmmaker didn’t stick to his picture of a simple bad boy. With subtlety, he developed toward portraits which are more intimate. Obviously, the eroticism is still pervasive. Viscous skins, reptilian eyes, and vampiric attitudes, the heroines of all Nukem are femmes fatales. Underground-like monsters, they appear to spring on mild to haunt the beholder. Aside from darkness, they’re trying yet hypnotizing. With their empowered nudity and mysterious temptation, they remind of a painting of Leonardo da Vinci, the intriguing St. John the Baptist and its troubling heritage. The link with painting is evident when thinking about the vibrant textures of Nukem’s images.
The extreme contrasts, the nacreous specifics in addition to the marble-like flesh… they’re conjuring sculptures, jeweler’s crafts, and sometimes even necromancy. We have the disturbing illusion to see beyond skins, to have a glimpse of spirits, to fulfill demigods. The models are suddenly very ancient souls. Are they evil, or simply beyond our mortal knowledge? We can’t state, but the atmosphere is intrusive. Their bodies are vulnerable, yet we’re the individuals who are stripped, uncomfortable. Just like at a very witty and hair-raising fiction. This is the strength of Nukem’s photography: it is quite simple, direct and, at precisely the exact same time, cinematic and protean. Anyhow, one thing is sure: that the “Tiger Style” of Haris Nukem will continue to roar.
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h/t: beautifulbizarre
