Alix Angjeli in “A Safe Bleed” by Donna Trope for NicOtine Magazine Fall 2017

Photographer: Donna Trope. Model(s): Alix Angjeli. Source: NiCotiNe Magazine. Makeup: Allie Smith. Hair: Gavin Harwin.

Posted Oct 21, 2017

Alix Angjeli gets up close and personal in “A Safe Bleed” by Donna Trope for NicOtine Magazine Fall 2017. When we forgo the concept of personal space we enter into a zone of reality. When perception is altered to a point of non recognition, we are forced to take a step back. Questioning our reason for being, we allow ourselves to break through the boundaries of human behavior, attempting to get to what’s real. Projection plays the part, proving that we overcome our pain through the act of evocation. Where there is smoke there is fire. Trope creates a chasm of comfort, while simultaneously bringing forth the unyielding beauty of being. Feeling the release, Allie Smith unleashes the beast, bracing the face for a high fashion feast. The temperature rises as Alix is surrounded by a sea of scorching heat.

Donna Trope becomes one with the process, as the camera evolves into an extension of self. Moving in on her subject she’s able to capture something unique. When boundaries are broken there can be a certain level of freedom secured. We can then feel what is real. What I mean, is that sometimes it’s the most challenging circumstances that can lead to an unleashing. As a snail slimes it’s trails over her supple skin, we see the poetic portrayal left behind. Every pore plays a part, as these images become less about the product of pretty than they do a projection of inner power. This is a tale of triumph told in real time.

There’s a quiet calmness that washes over her face, as she moves into a meditative place. Staring straight she doesn’t flinch, as Alix appears to be in a transcendental state. Caught between boldness untold and neon enrichment, we watch as she moves into another world. A place where pink flies with wings on high as purple, blue & green collide in fluid form. Bright white leaves a mark over her blazing, blue eyes as a smokey line encircles the lid. Like a child playing in finger paints, so does Smith use shadows to make a statement of freedom. Red haute and ready to go, beauty burns through the page expressing in a quiet rage. Keeping pace, the story moves slow (like a snail), as her pores open and sweat collects. Becoming more than color placement, each pigment paints a picture of possibility. The inner beast is released as the primal spirit of red is unleashed.

How fast we adapt. What we saw first as an invader ~ a creepy crawling creature there to do harm ~ is now part of the picture proper. The snail of uncertainty crawls around her lips leaving it’s entrails behind. Making it’s way up her cheek pausing in reflection, it finally decides to settle quietly on the nasal incline. Matchy-Matchy… she lays on her back bringing her scarlet nails to a kissable mouth of the same tone. Like the snail she leaves a trail of lipstick stain on her cigarette. A poetic projection that makes a triumphant connection. We are all just animals, with the ability to go beyond. Our natural behavior speaks to our intellectual acumen, while is screams of our incessant failures. Human reaction is a beautiful thing, until it is not.