Crystal Queens

Combining retrofuturism, hyperreal aesthetics, pop-art style colours and diamond studded female bodies, I playfully satirises the desire for physical perfection, holding up a mirror to our own dehumanising obsession with appearances, aiming to expose society’s unrealistic standards of beauty. I studied at the London College of Fashion, completing a BA and MA in Fashion Photography. Upon graduating in 2019, my work has won awards for emerging talent in both Photography and Directing.

I use photography and film to create characters of my view of the human pursuit of perfection. This is mainly linked, but not limited to the desire to be physically perfect and beautiful. I am inspired by the way we seem to disconnect from ourselves as we try harder and harder to become more perfect, whether this perfection is physical beauty or being amazing at our jobs, or top of our class. We’re taught that we must be the best from a very young age. In my work I like to explore and portray a satirical glimpse into the moments where we have gone too far. I make use of bold and inviting colour palettes as a way to snatch the viewers attention, acting as a visual way to display the sugar coated reality we often allow ourselves to live in.

I would like to explore this work further by creating these Crystal Queen characters within this world, to embody the way we glaze ourselves in a skin, an armour of perceived perfection, as a response to the visual aesthetics and fantasy life that are sold to us through media outlets and the products that promise us these instant results. There are three layers that I want Crystal Queens to focus upon: Advertisement, Fantasy and Reality. With a focus on the balance of the real and artificial and where the disconnect lies and boundaries are blurred, the Crystal Queens will embody this theme, portraying how the media makes icons out of people, whilst making the rest of us feel bad about ourselves, forcing us to seek out ways to look as perfect as them.

The media ridicules and criticise these same icons when they look slightly more human and not airbrushed, reducing them to a human level, allowing scrutiny and criticism, sending the message to the public that it’s wrong to look human, resulting in the same outcome where we feel a need to seek out aesthetic enhancements.

© Jasmine De Silva - Crystal Clean
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Crystal Clean

© Jasmine De Silva - How to Build Your Human
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How to Build Your Human

© Jasmine De Silva - How to Build Your Human
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How to Build Your Human

© Jasmine De Silva - How to Build Your Human
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How to Build Your Human

© Jasmine De Silva - Time 4 a Wash
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Time 4 a Wash

© Jasmine De Silva - How to Build Your Human
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How to Build Your Human

© Jasmine De Silva - How to Build Your Human
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How to Build Your Human

© Jasmine De Silva - Crystal Clean
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Crystal Clean

© Jasmine De Silva - Time to Glow
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Time to Glow

© Jasmine De Silva - Time 4 a Wash
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Time 4 a Wash

© Jasmine De Silva - The Salon
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The Salon

© Jasmine De Silva - The Salon
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The Salon

© Jasmine De Silva - Skintight
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Skintight

© Jasmine De Silva - Skintight
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Skintight

© Jasmine De Silva - Crystal Tv
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Crystal Tv

© Jasmine De Silva - Crystal Clean
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Crystal Clean

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