A beautiful morning to you all, search from our other tentacled friends in the Mediterranean sea. They may not have brains but this one seems to have a heart on display.

© Eric Lafforgue

I’ve been following Eric Lafforgue and his ingenious eye on flickr since I joined. This portrait is part of his latest trip’s effort. I can’t stop looking at her black-painted fingers, almost resembling negative space gloves, the kohl-lined eyes, mismatched powder and layered veils. The warm glow behind her, presumably candles and something light green just out of frame almost create a familiarity but her outbound gaze signals otherwise.More no less impressive images beyond the jump.

“They call their series Exactitudes: a contraction of exact and attitude. By registering their subjects in an identical framework, with similar poses and a strictly observed dress code, Versluis and Uyttenbroek provide an almost scientific, anthropological record of people’s attempts to distinguish themselves from others by assuming a group identity. ” – Exactitudes Website

These pictures go a long way to remind me that no matter how individualistic people think they are with their clothes and makeup, in the end we are all divided into relatively homogeneous tribes. These dress codes, both on the street and on MySpace, make it easy to find new friends – or at least they used to. When I was younger, if I saw green-haired girl with weird jewelry on the train, I could easily strike up a conversation on basis of common interests. I’ve met a lot of friends that way. These days, that’s not the case. I’ve met freaky-looking people who had nothing in common with me, and I’ve met people dress completely “normal” who turned to be some of the most unique individuals I’ve ever known. People dress a certain way in order to send social cues to each other about common interests, but now with the Avril Lavigne generation, “alternative” cues that used to mean a lot don’t mean nearly quite as much.

It’s still possible to meet new friends in cities while simply walking down the street, but it’s a lot more tricky than it was when I was 15. Either I’ve changed, or social norms have changed, or both. Now, I pay attention more to what people are holding in their hands, what type of facial expression they have, what they’re reading, rather than their hair color or makeup. How do you find friends in the crowd?

Thaw by Caryn Drexl

Later it is the air she will remember. The sharpness of it as she inhaled: crisp like paper. She could have been breathing paper. There was a rush of sound, like a train passing, or maybe like she was the train. Thick colors swirled and time became molasses as her legs slowly tumbled around behind her and then over her head… She was the blob of paint spreading thinly every which way, spindling in all directions, pulled flat, slow and hard. That was how she tumbled and then time caught up with itself and she dropped. – Bridge suicide scene from Amanda Davis’ “Circling the Drain”

Being a human can be pretty scary when you become too aware of your flesh. This is especially true if you’re a woman. Photographer Caryn Drexl knows it, and isn’t afraid to show that in the most visceral way.

To me, many of these images are about profound loss; loss of the feeling that you were once normal and whole, a feeling that we had as children and gradually traded for the good and the bad that comes with the desire to reshape yourself to fit certain beauty ideals. I suggest going through Drexl’s entire portfolio in one sitting and paying attention to the image titles. It’s like taking a journey through some gnarled dark woods, with Drexl’s sense of humor shining through like sunlight through the branches. Drexl has a remarkable power to use motifs that I’d thought had lost all their magic, such as dolls, broken glass and tears, to provoke a real reaction. With all the misuse of such themes in alt photography, I never thought that seeing them would impact me again – but it has. Drexl comes from a pure place and it seems to me like she never uses an object in a photo unless there’s a compelling personal reason.

Drexl uses herself as a model in many of the pictures, and writes in her bio, “I consider myself an artist the internet made.”

• Caryn Drexl Portfolio Site
• Caryn Drexl Prints at Etsy
• Caryn Drexl on Flickr

More of my favorite images, after the jump. Thanks for the tip, Megumi!

The Muse. Photo by Viona, outfit and jewelry by Elisabeth.

Elisabeth and Viona Ielegems are two sisters from Belgium with an incredible talent for fashion and photography. Golden-haired gothic princess Viona is a world-famous alt photographer who appears in many of her own images, and her younger sister Elisabeth is a fashion designer who makes gorgeous necklaces, rings, earrings and other filigree items for your inner woodland fae. Together they collaborated on the following shoot for Elisabeth’s graduation project, a series of designs revolving around different feminine archetypes. Seen above is The Muse. Click on the titles below to see more:

• The Winter Bride
• The Courtesan
• The Widow
• The Muse
• The Fetish

The links are to Viona’s site, and the project can be seen on Elisabeth’s Flash site as well with poetic quotations describing each.

Oh, this face, this voice…

Grace Jones, “I’ve Seen That Face Before”

As far as I’m concerned, Grace Jones was the It Girl of the 80s. Her partnerships with Jean-Paul Goude and Keith Haring yielded some of the most iconic, otherworldly images of the decade.

photo by Jean-Paul Goude

She was valorous, donning multiple personas that confronted racial and sexual stereotypes, her “jungle cat” performances lampooning primitivist readings of the black female body in much the same way Josephine Baker‘s send-ups in banana/tusk skirts had half a century earlier. She played a mean accordion, rocked a buzz cut like no other, was witty and elegant, but did not hesitate to smack a bitch when the occasion called for it.

Let the countdown begin!

Model: Licky Roxxx
Photographer: Rockee Lixxx

Children, you already know what eating too much candy does to your teeth, but do you know what snorting it does to your brain? It turns you into a fan of Jeffree Star’s music! So stay away from the stuff. It’s lethal. Try snorting peas and carrots instead.

Some choice images from Flickr user Sagbottom‘s gorgeous set of “Paper Moon” portrait photographs, accompanied by the First Lady of Jazz, Ella Fitzgerald:

I never feel a thing is real
When I’m away from you
Out of your embrace
The world’s a temporary parking place…

Anastasia by Inez van lamsweerde.

It’s Mask Day at Coilhouse! A personal favorite topic, and research at the moment. As always, you’re welcome to submit your own additions to the theme.

Navajo Mask, originally uploaded by Coilhouse.

And while we’re on the topic of self-transformation – a photo of a Navaho tribesman in a fur and leather mask, taken in 1904 by Edward S. Curtis. The Navaho typically made these masks specifically for dancing – inspiring, especially when one to feels too lazy to dress up, before a club for instance!