Valérie Belin (Re-Post)

Valérie Belin was born in 1964 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. She still lives in France, but is now working out of Paris. Her work often deals with identity and portraiture. And, of course, her work was featured in a show at a museum in Milwaukee, WI that just ended 3 days ago (why do I always find out about these things a week too late????) These images are from two, untitled series from 2006. She explores the world of the professional model in these images. I read somewhere, that while mannequins (the artificial people kind - not the french word for model) are becoming more and more human-looking, while professional models are becoming less and less human-looking. It's the vacant expressions that really make the photos. I really can't say for certain which ones are fake or real if any are fake or if any are real. The first image is the only one that I'm pretty sure is real, the others I can't tell... It's the questioning that makes these images so successful. Please visit her website HERE.