Daniel Sannwald: Mesmerizing us one image at a time
German born photographer Daniel Sannwald is an experimental image-maker; his pictures have been published in I-D, Dazedand Vogue. His work explores multimedia platforms, blurring the lines between film and photography.
After attending The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, he pursued a career in photography by sending a hand written letter to Dazed’s, Nicola Formichetti, who first published his work.
His experimental methodology does not abide by the standard rules of photography, so much so, that he doesn’t even own a camera – choosing to borrow from friends and play around with digital, analogue and cinematic methods.
Whilst Sannwald’s technique may differ from other fashion photographers his work sends a direct message through the use of mesmerizing colours that harmonize, producing images that are difficult to ignore.
His digitalised attitude to photography embraces the real essence of the subject, captured with dream-like qualities, whether it is the beauty of a model or the movement of the subject. However, he has openly admitted that what we see is not the result of hours on Photoshop, but created with broken scanners or old cell phones.
The images he creates stand out in this fast paced digital era, by clinging onto the attractiveness of the topic. They reflect the story of the unpredictable, and are loaded with sophisticated arrangements, just by focusing on the simplicity of a crease in a garment, for example.
Sannwald works impulsively, he uses surreal techniques and explores countless styles for photographic and video work. Whilst he experiments with the bizarre and innovative, his next project might take on a more classical style.
His roles as a director has seen him create films for Westfield’s AW2014 Campaign, in which he opted for a clean, monochrome slant – to capture the pursuit of perfection in men’s fashion. Yet his latest cinematic venture, Campers SS2015 Campaign juxtaposes this idea, using exposed colours to give it a new digital vibe. Both reflect a love for dance, something Sannwald used as inspiration.
His latest work with Antidote Magazine for their SS2015 digital issue, featuring supermodel Gigi Hadid, screams high fashion. From the clean shapes of the models’ postures, to the bold colour palette used. The fluidity of the magazine cannot be faulted; it captures the real essence of iconic photography, something Sannwald unquestionably possesses. His work is, simply put, completely breathtaking, in that ‘I can’t stop staring,’ hypnotic kind of way.
