Stefano Padoan (b. Venice, Italy, 1982) is a photographer and musician who studied at the “Liceo Artistico di Venezia, Italy” (2000-2004) and is now based in London, UK.
Padoan’s images use laser lights to capture and explore the human form and raw emotion on camera, a unique technique he developed in 2011. His initial experiments with laser began with the simple exploration of lines of light against the female body. Using the laser pen as a paintbrush, light is literally painted onto the body’s contours in one quick sweep which is then captured by long exposures on camera. The movement of the lines follows the curves of the body giving almost a 3D optical illusion.
Always experimenting with different methods such as creating new tools to disperse light and working with a range of models, actors and dancers, Padoan is constantly searching for ways to allow more and more possibilities manifest within his art. Where his earlier work is concerned with the beauty of the female form in pose and how this can be explored through the use of line, his more recent work uses a more concentrated use of light to exhibit raw human emotion through movement. These images alternate between two extremes; on one side there is fear and desperation and agony, and on the other an explosion of anger and passion. For Padoan, the dramatic power of these images have a cathartic effect which only exist due to the highly unpredictable nature of the laser movements and the otherwise unseen expression of his models. You can see more of his works here.
