Stoic Warrior is a three-part photo series by Greg Chacon that explores the exotic beauty of tribal body art and the idea of The Warrior Woman. Bringing an air of strength and woman empowerment to the photography medium, these three photos are inspired by the tribal facial tattoos of the Maori of New Zealand and body painting of the Aborigines of Australia.
“As an artist, I wanted to push my limits by being involved in the process from start to finish— from styling, to creating the unique war paint designs adorning my models, and finally photographing and editing each piece individually to execute my vision of the Stoic Warrior,” Chacon said. “In creating these depictions, these women now personify an image of both strength and beauty. The goal for this photo series was to make the war paint the focal point, thus highlighting strength, power, and individuality captured by the lens of a camera.”
The intricate war paint design and the rustic pieces worn give each depicted warrior woman her individuality to become a cohesive image that reiterates the goal of Stoic Warrior. “Utilizing my resources, I was able to create an atmosphere of women of tribal descent in their own native setting, a mock-photographic documentary of an exotic Warrior Queen overseeing her dominion flanked by her two trusted army generals,” Chacon said. “With photography as my tool, the emphasis and goal of the photos then became the war paint, making the bodies of our Stoic Warriors secondary, while still highlighting key images in color to make the images further pop. What lent itself to the process was the vehicle of photography that created a sense of realism in my vision of the strong woman warrior.”
Chacon said the project has been gratifying in every sense of the word. “For an artist to see his or her world that they envision realized in physical form is an achievement in every aspect because you’ve infused yourself and artistic vision as one,” he said. “The art is part of you, a child of perfection in your eyes, to put it simply.”
Greg Chacon may be contacted at gcblu3@gmail.com .
