L.A-based Italian photographer Guido Argentini combines the female form with metallic body paint to execute a uniquely-silver photo shoot. The snapper snapped up some gymnasts, aerialists and dancers, all professionals in their respective fields, and coated them with a shimmering silver shade to create a collection of pictures that metamorphoses the women into magnificent metallic models.
The project entitled ‘Argentum’, which translates to silver from Latin, sees a series of nude models shot in acrobatic poses alongside elemental, geometrically-shaped props in order to highlight the complexity that is the human body.
“In 1995 for the first time I decided to shoot a woman entirely covered in silver body makeup. Using only one light I started a series of photographs that led over many years of work to this book… Argentum,” Guido stated.
Guido’s choice of using a simple and clean background accentuates the models’ plastic positions, creating an almost liquid-like effect, transforming the photographs into dynamic stills. The series will be released both as a fine art book and as a film that delves into the making and thinking behind the series.
Guido Argentini was born in Florence, Italy. He studied medicine for three years at the University of Florence. At the age of 23 he decided to turn his passion for photography into a profession, and started shooting fashion and beauty. He has been living in Los Angeles since 1990.
His first book ‘Silvereye’, published in 2003, presented an exquisite series of studio and landscape nudes. The sculpture of Michelangelo and Rodin served as inspiration for Guido Argentini’s photographs of female nudes. Shot over a span of 17 years, they reflect the artist’s personal passion for sculpture and dance.