Here’s a Handy Video About Photographing a Dress Made Entirely of… Well, Hands

Photography Tips

Five months of planning. Nine hours shooting in the studio. 40 hours editing images in Photoshop.

That’s what it took to complete “the most extensive (if not excessive)” project that photographer John Flury has ever attempted—a haunting composite image called “Provincial Uprising.” Watch behind the scenes as Flury hashes out the details for the project and shoots the stills necessary to realize his surrealist vision of a model wearing a dress that is composed entirely of hands:

For Flury, “Provincial Uprising” tells the story of a female monarch who rules by instilling fear into her subjects. These subjugated masses make up the sum of her power and hold her reign—and even her physical well being—together. In the photo, the queen stares “in horror” at an angry uprising somewhere in her realm and contemplates how to suppress it without starting more fires.

“It’s all a big house of cards,” said Flury. “If one card falls, the rest will surely crumble as well… her power and body will be torn apart by the very people who protected her and shielded her. Such is the nature of power by fear.”

“Provincial Uprising” by John Flury

As with “Provincial Uprising,” Flury’s goal is for each of his artworks to tell a complete story, even standing alone.

“The word ‘storytelling’ has a different connotation in photography,” said Flury. “People don’t expect for there to be an actual story, but more like a concept of a story. I’d like to go deeper, much deeper. I’d like to tell not just concepts of stories, but the stories themselves and, if possible, do so with a single image.”

What story do you think “Provincial Uprising” tells?