Flora Borsi is young Hungarian fine art photographer who uses photo manipulation techniques to craft surreal, dramatic bordering on theatrical images, primarily centered on expressing ideas about emotions, dreams, identity and relationships. She’s racked up awards on both sides of the Atlantic, exhibited in the Louvre, and had her work featured in a variety of big publications from Glamour and ELLE Magazine to BBC Culture, The Huffington Post, and VICE.
But you’ve more likely caught a glimpse of her art on the opening page of Abode 2014’s Photoshop CC or the cover of Elle King’s single ‘Ain’t Gonna Drown‘. And her tribute to the late David Bowie got its fair share of Internet attention. She’s also contributed to lots of campaigns targeted at the public good, for groups like The BullyProject Mural and the Farha AIDS Foundation.
Borsi’s mastered how to incorporate intensely natural elements from the world around us into her otherwise out-of-this-world images, creating balanced albeit enhanced hybrid scenes. An artist since the age of five, Borsi’s recent collection, Animeyed, was inspired by a routine snapshot with her pup. But the results are far from the regular Instagram or Facebook fare—reminding us all of the splendour, and striking similarities, between us humans and the vast animal life we share planet with.
Love Nature caught up with Borsi to discover the thinking behind Animeyed and why she’s so passionate about including the natural world in her art.
Hey Flora. First up, please tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m Flora Borsi, I was born in 1993, Budapest, Hungary. Currently I’m living in Budapest also. I’m a photographer because I always tried to do something artistic, like drawing, painting, but it wasn’t realistic enough. I’m involved in Photo-manipulation since I was 12, and then I decided in 2007 to create my own images to work with. This is how I got into photography. Nowadays I’m working a lot with Photoshop, so I’d rather call myself a visual artist.
I see you’re a fine art photographer, but I think you add quite a twist. Can you explain why and how you came up with this manipulation technique?
Reality wasn’t enough, it’s boring for me and many artists before me have done pieces based on what they see. I’m trying to create images that look like unedited, real photos, but have a lot of post- production behind them. Somehow I want to show my world through my works what are my very own.
It looks like Animeyed is by no means your first foray into the fantastic, or the art world. Can you tell me a bit about some of your favourite or most impressive showings to date? I heard you even showcased in the Louvre!
My Favourite exhibition was my first solo exhibition in the US. It was in Detroit, 2014 at Museum of New Art (MONA). It was my first time outside of Europe, especially in the States. I loved everything about it. I met really kind people at my opening, and my curator had done a really good job.
I’ve just fell in love with Detroit and its people, so I visited them last year also. I have done a project called ‘Detroit‘ with a local friend’s help, so I think I’ve done something for them like they’ve done good things to me.
What was your thinking behind Animeyed? Why focus on animals, and more specifically, why their eyes?
Once I tried to do a selfie with my dog and his eyes were like one of mine. This amateur picture was the trigger to make my Animeyed series with different species. I observed the little details, and the most typical things on each species. The texture of the skin, fur, color, eyes. I made a mood board and was inspired by the earlier work of makeup artists and hairdressers I found on the web. I wanted to do something for animals, to make a call to see their beauty!
What was your favourite image from the series? Which was the most fun to create?
My favourite one is ‘Dove’. I like it because it’s so pure and minimalistic. The most fun to create was the image with the cat, called ‘Kitty’. I’m not that kind of ‘cat girl’ but I’ve tried to identify with this beautiful and graceful species.
Did you learn anything that stands out about the animals you used?
Of course! I observed the details for hours, so now I know how they look exactly. Their colourful look is just amazing—it was inspiring to create images with these colour schemes. I was also fascinated by their eyes… so human.
What’s next?
I don’t know exactly. I have in mind many projects; sometimes I just take a rest and gain some energy. I love nature. It’s always inspiring and knows the best!
If you’re interested in seeing more of Flora’s work, please check out her website www.floraborsi.com