top of page

DOMINIQUE CRO'S PHOTOGRAPHY: CLOSE TO HUMANITY

Dominique Cro is a socio-artist living in London. For her, the observation and study of human behavior through the lens of her camera are manic and magnetic processes. Photography is an artistic tool capable of capturing the truth of just one second. Real. Unique. The technique of this discipline is perfectly suited to Dominique’s curious, sensitive and attentive eye. She wants to observe social issues such as queerness, sexualization and surveillance technology.


Untitled 2020


Hello Dominique, what differentiates photography from other arts? What does it teach us?


We live in a visual era and photography has the power to move our emotions in a split second. Recognizing the influence of images in our lives and using this as a positive force for change is a practice I apply in my work. By encapsulating the truth of a moment, a photograph can reveal reality, create momentum and ultimately make a difference.



Is photographic art a good tool for studying society?


I think every tool that attempts to depict a representation of society should be examined at source. Whether it’s a video, an article or a photograph, the intentions of the artists, their gaze and biases must be considered when using photography as an authentic study.



The Picture of Health 2020

People Just Watch TV 2020



What prompted you to document, through photography, the cycles of production, consumption and waste?


Production, consumption and waste are processes in our global society that

have grown disproportionately, without limitations and this has increasingly led them to be totally detached from nature. This has resulted in excess objects, excess waste and overuse of natural resources.

For me, the environmental crisis is the greatest call to action that humanity has ever experienced. Taking care of our earth and home affects not only every person but every form of life on this planet and I feel it’s my moral duty as an artist to create works that address these themes.




How would you describe your artistic poetry?


Here’s a poem I wrote entitled ‘The Glass which is Never Half Full or Half Empty’ which I think sums up this question nicely.


Why

Run from time

Chase the next line

Search and find

The endless plate

The now, not wait

An all you can eat buffet

Why propagate

Heal or prevent

When we can medicate

And wait

For tech wizards

To cast spells

Of stem cells

Setting price tags

On youth and health

Crystal balls

Of data prediction

Freedom of choice

Through algorithm

Brain implants

To raise IQs

Find my iPhone

When skin is chipped too?

Fiber optics

Cloud formations

Google history

Saved locations

Siri whisper

Sweet incarnations

Of everything now

Instant gratification

Mother’s fridge is running low

Mass consumption and CO2

Sit by the campfire

Of Amazon wood

Whilst Prime continues

To deliver our goods

No longer a space race

Between East and West

But a space race between

The super rich and the rest

A pricey escape

From this methane mess

And the glass is overflowing

But it’s business as usual

We should be crying

Over all the spilt milk

When our planet is dying

But you know they don’t call it

Trickle down for nothing

It’s all about business as usual




Sometimes images have a stronger charge than words, they are a great means of denunciation. Like in your latest project, for example, you want to celebrate queerness, love and respect for yourself. Do you agree?


Yes, I agree that images can be more powerful than words at times. I think the combination of image and text is even more effective.

The title of the work you refer to is ‘Crystal Queer’ and the series of works that celebrate body positivity and queer experiences. The project is an ongoing collection of photographs presenting different expressions of sexuality of a whole host of people who identify with different sexual preferences and genders. Each person or couple is asked to express their sexuality while semi-hidden behind a textured glass pane. I think the title of this piece contextualizes the work to a certain extent and eludes the meaning of the work. If the series existed solely as images it would have been more difficult for the viewer to interpret the work.


Taking a Dip 2018

Homestay 2018


How are you experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic? Does your art lack physical contact?


I find that the first lockdown and its restrictions on traveling overseas have been a challenge for the usual way I work. Much of my creative process involves being outside with my camera. However, during this period I spent my time developing my animation skills and applying for funding to realize projects that require collaborating with a team of creatives.




Tell us about your latest online performance, Tits & Co.


This project was an online exhibition in which Tits & Co shared my work on their Instagram profile @titsandco. The piece I presented was a celebration of body positivity and free female nipple, as Instagram commonly blocks content showing female nipples but not men’s. The shame and sexualization of women’s bodies is a product of the patriarchy and so I wanted to challenge this notion within a platform that commonly condemns female nudity.


с у п е р м а р к е т 2018

Crystal Queer (2020)


Tell us about your interest in surveillance technology. Without realizing it, we live in a super controlled world. And you, with your art, contribute to this world by filming persons without their consent and examining the effectiveness of the privacy law.


I live in London which is dubbed the CCTV capital of the world, with an estimated 500,000 CCTV cameras on its streets. The intention of the surveillance series is to make us question our false sense of privacy, through secret footage of people in public spaces. If an artist films us without permission, we feel uncomfortable, but we don’t question the hours of footage captured of us on the streets on CCTV or the information we give out for free every day online. I hope my surveillance photographs can create conversation about the concept of privacy and the importance of our right to privacy.



Do you have plans for the future?


I asked for a loan to create a new series of works that speculate on our future as earthlings. Exploring digitization and the Anthropocene, this body of work discusses topics such as extinction, cloning and AI. I’ll also spend some wellness time pampering my cat who likes to sit on my computer and turn it off when I work too much.




Art Portrait of Myself - Credit Ksenia Burnasheva








To know more about Dominique's work, click here.










Interview and Article by


Images provided by

Comments


bottom of page