MAZE27
©2013 Craig Ashby
7.75” x 9.375”
Collage

Twenty-seventh in the MAZE Series sees Black Swan make its mark. A huge mark. When I look at all the these images on my phone, this one sticks out like a sore thumb.

At the time Black Swan came out The Village Voice had an issue with a promotional piece outside the actual cover. A four-color process on clay coated paper that covered maybe a third of the actual cover.

The front being the heavy eye makeup look. The back being a profile waist to shoulder shot of Natalie Portman. The interiors being black and white feathers and text.

Did you think I could resist heavy eye makeup, Aronofsky and Portman? Let’s just say I left all of The Village Voices intact but with maybe a little less hype.

When I started cutting more crops for the second half I knew I had to incorporate the eyes. The entire second half is about utilizing the same colors for all four images. I had enough to spare even if the cutter ate a few.

Did I mention it sticks out like a sore thumb? The result isn’t what I intended. It’s much darker than I usually get. It implies spiders and Azazel from The Sandman. Especially in MAZE27-4. All those little teeth in the darkness.