The face unmade

A portrait built around the interaction of light, colour and smoke. Against a vivid red background, a strong directional light reveals part of the subject's face while the rest falls into shadow. The smoke moves across his features, partially obscuring his expression and introducing an unpredictable element into an otherwise controlled composition. I wanted to balance the graphic intensity of the red with the texture and movement of the smoke, allowing the face to appear and disappear within the image.