Having perfected the balance between chance and composition, the artist presents us with amusing scenes from the social lives of the über-rich.
With her camera in hand, the artist Jessica Craig-Martin goes on safari for the world’s rich and beautiful. With her hunting ground comprising exclusive dinner parties, gala events, and movie premieres, the results of her shoots are close-ups from the world of glitz and glam, zeroing in on the habitus of the party guests she encounters. Craig-Martin's photographs are not only fascinating because of their snapshot aesthetic. In the tradition of Henri Cartier-Bresson, she captures the decisive moment. Having perfected the balance between chance and composition, the artist presents us with amusing scenes from the social lives of the über-rich. Her subjects are rarely identified in the photographs, and yet the iconic status symbols adorning their bodies do define them: their high heels, pinned-up coiffures, and designer handbags the embodiment not only of wealth but excess – as eccentric as hot dogs served on a silver platter. Lust, ecstasy, and indulgence are captured by the photographer in various situations, often in a humorous way.