Artists 272 & 273
Mothmeister
Postmortem Fairytale Photography
Belgian artistic duo Mothmeister consist of a female graphic designer and a male artistic director, who both hail from Antwerp, Belgium. They speak as one and prefer to keep their real-life details out of the public eye. “It is not about us, it is about our art. Yes, one of us is always in the art, but never recognisable, always with a mask on or turned away from the camera. It’s not about our actual world, it is about the world we’ve created in our minds, our post-mortem fairy tales.”
They share a love for post-mortem photography and stuffed animals which they channel into their own unique style of imagery, typically depicting eerie, fairy tale-like characters in post-apocalyptic landscapes.
Their best works are now compiled in a book called Mothmeister: Weird and Wonderful Post-Mortem Fairy Tales. The images used in the book are taken all across the globe. Iceland is one of Mothmeister’s favourite spots. “The landscapes in Iceland are breathtaking and always have a bit of a dark atmosphere to them, which suits our work really well. Travelling really inspires us, if we were meant to stay in one place we would have roots instead of feet.”
Mothmeister has created a place they call “Wounderland”. It is a land in which grotesque creatures, in fascinating yet disturbing masks, stare out from barren wastelands, usually accompanied by mounted and stuffed animals.
Unconventional and enchanting, the fairytale world of Mothmeister is at once reminiscent of a bygone age, while subtly criticising today’s ever-present ‘selfie’ culture, and the beauty standards imposed by the media.’
Their photoshoots were born when Mothmeister combined their passion for urban exploring with their love for taxidermy and creepy masks.
They elaborate, “Our living room is like a 19th century Victorian cabinet of curiosities, with stuffed animals and antique medical equipment. We’ve been collecting taxidermy for almost 20 years and have quite a large collection at home. We also love masks, especially death masks and pest masks, the ones that look like bird beaks and were used by doctors in the 17th century to ward off the plague.”
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Sources consulted
https://www.boredpanda.com/wounderland-fairy-tales-weird-surrealistic-photography-mothmeister/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/belgium/articles/meet-mothmeister-the-belgian-artists-whose-post-apocalyptic-images-will-give-you-chills/?amp=1
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