killing denouement

via the artist and his model

“Eating Ortolans” by photographer Clayton James Cubitt
These images are kind of incredible in the way they literalise fashion- as- faceless- contorture, not to mention the wonderful exaggerated avian silhouettes in themselves. The last is a photo from someone I used to know in Dubai, Kris; I believe he’s now in Germany. The shoes especially recall the recentish collaboration between filmmaker David Lynch and shoe designer Christian Louboutin, of red soled fame. There’s more over at Wallpaper.
edit: these also recall

EDIT: I later came across these pictures of Japanese fetish heels, new and (very disturbingly), the geisha equivalents of old.

Most interesting perhaps is the title of the series, ‘Eating Ortolans’, which appears to reference the (highly illegal) French gourmet tradition of eating these small birds. The process involves capturing it alive, and blinding it (either physically or by placing it in a dark box) so it gorges itself. I didn’t notice this at first but if you look at Cubitt’s photos, the model is generally similarly blinded, with the quasi-gormless gawping open mouth of baby bird being fed. Once it’s a couple sizes larger, it’s drowned in Aramnac, plucked and roasted whole (more here)