Linda Blacker

Linda Blacker is a fantasy artist based in the UK. Well known for her 'YouTuber Fairytales' series, in which she transforms popular content creators on the video platform 'YouTube' into fantastical and mythical beings, most often alongside a written story which gives the images context and a deeper meaning.
Her instagram is more fruitful in this area than her official website, displaying a more vast amount of images which include the stories that the images are based off. On her website these are not included.
These stories can range from completely made up fiction, or something about herself and her experiences that have influenced the work.



This image is about Blacker's sleep paralysis. On her instagram, the image was accompanied with the text -

"I was around 13 the first time I experienced Sleep Paralysis. 
I used to have this recurring dream where I would ‘wake up’ in my room & something terrifying would be chasing me. A lot of the time it was my toys, magically bought to life within my dream. I remember the time my favourite teddybear turned on me & came to kill me. Betrayal.

Anyway, I would run to my sisters room who in these recurring dreams, was a witch. To my relief, she would banish away the monsters, then I would actually wake up.

After a while, the recurring dreams changed. I would run to my sisters room & she wouldn’t be there. I ran downstairs to find my brother & parents, but no one was around. The monsters came, but I had no one to save me. 
One night the dream began as it always did, but this time as I got out of bed I fell to the floor and could not move. I was paralysed. 
The next night, I awoke, but I could not move. I was not in a dream but I was not fully awake. I could only scrape my fingers against the bed sheets. I felt a presence in the room, but I could not see or hear it. My breathing was difficult, shallow. After what felt like an eternity, I could move again and my room returned to it’s true reality. That was my first experience of Sleep Paralysis. 
From that night on, almost every night without fail, I would have Sleep Paralysis. At the time I did not know what it was, I presumed it was some sort of nightmare. During paralysis I would hear things, whispers, threatening voices. I still remember the black scaly demon I saw once sitting next to my head, on my pillow. 
I became scared to sleep, so my parents took me to the doctors who sent me to see a neurologist. After a lot of tests, I was prescribed medication which I still take every night before bed, which prevents the Sleep Paralysis. I still experience it now & then, but nothing like before.

I don’t look forward to going to bed like most people. I still have this feeling of dread in the back of my mind that I can not shake."


The imagery itself is incredibly powerful. The simple fact that it's a self portrait means we know that we get to see into this artist's life, we are having something shared from the heart and soul of the artist with us. Her eye contact forces us as the viewer to become a part of the narrative that perhaps we wouldn't want to be a part of because it doesn't look like a friendly place to be. The cold colours give the image an unfriendly feeling, a not so welcoming place nor situation. The shadow figures reach into frame, but w can't see their form in a still or clear position that would allow us to study them, we only see something that none of us would welcome into our dreams. Blacker places us in a very mulled down version of her experiences, for we're conscious that we are not directly in that situation. We're observing art, and we know that. For the artist, however, it feel so much more real but the most she can engage us in is showing us visually, because unless we experience sleep paralysis ourselves we won't fully understand.
The way she's on her side but also making eye contact is rather unnerving. This is because looking sideways simply isn't comfortable, if you were to look at somebody you'd usually do so straight on, without causing a strain to your eyes. The way her eyes are so wide perpetuates this further, the sense of discomfort which then is transferred to us as the viewer. Because of this eye contact and her body position, she appears trapped, which I believe, with reading her text on the piece, is exactly what she wanted to convey, and in a not so literal way. She appears trapped in her own body, her figure in a normal sleeping pose but her eyes are anything but tired looking.
The shadows on her own body and bed makes the image seem a whole lot more realistic. It's easy for images involving photoshop to create a fantasy-like image to look clearly fake, which of course removes the feeling and intensity of the image. Because we can see the shadows, not only are we more unnerved that they're coming from something behind us, but we also are put in a position to believe and to be immersed to a fuller extent.
Her body, other than being in the sleeping position, also shows off her figure rather well. If her eyes were closed, she would look very beautiful and peaceful, a stereotypical beauty perhaps. However her eyes staring at us, almost pleading with us, strips this away.
The story that accompanies the image really adds to the personal touch. One could argue it's giving too much away and leaving too little to the imagination, however I would argue against this. The passage written with this helps give a better context to the image, and because it's so personal it lets us feel the image on a much stronger level. We are still unaware of exactly what the experience is like, however her description allows for people like myself who have no experience of this condition to be able to put themselves in her shoes, to even spark imagination more than if they were unsure of what the image is about.
The story is heartfelt, and perhaps not necessary but I do think it adds to the effect of the image, causing an audience to emphasise more.



This image is called 'Moonlight', and is accompanied with the following text on her instagram;

"Her name is Moonlight. 
She tiptoes across the earth at dusk, moonlight pouring over the ground in the wake of her delicate footsteps. 
Her silver hair billows behind her as she moves, tickling her icy white skin.

Wherever she goes, moonlight follows. Without her, the earth would dwell in darkness at night, illuminated only by the artificial lights; the glimmer of a lonely street lamp, headlights flying by on a busy road, even the dim glow of a yellow bedroom light, seeping out from behind a musky curtain. 
Beside her walks a spirit. Her companion, her friend, in the form of a household cat. This spirit’s name is Luna.

As the sun sets and the moon rises, she looks at her ornate golden pocketwatch, it’s chain flowing between her finger tips as she holds it near. ‘It’s almost time.’ She whispers to Luna. 
And together they begin the dance of the Moonlight, for night has begun."

The image again has icy tones to reflect the lighting in the middle of the night. Her dress is delicate which is also seen within her pose. She seems elegant and mysterious, just as we'd image the moonlight to be. White is a recurring colour within this image, which has connotations of purity and light. This matched with her elegance immediately makes her a likeable character. It also creates a strong contrast between the white and the darker background, making the character stand out even more.
The character is stepping into the moonlight from the dark, revealing more about her face and dress in the parts where the light falls on her.
This image is far less direct than the previous image, there's no eye contact and it feels as if we as the viewer are looking in on something that's not supposed to be seen.
The way she's emerging from the bushes intensifies this, and also makes me think 'what else could be hiding in those bushes?'.
The mystery of her clock is cleared up when we read the story; we know its purpose and who this character is.
Blacker has made sure that the story doesn't eliminate all of the mystery though, for she does not tell us what the character is actually doing, she makes us want to read and know more. We are given the information that she spreads moonlight over the world but this just intrigues me even more.
Some would say not to give an audience everything on a plate all at once, and that you should make an audience work to find out the meaning that the read from the image, however I feel that the story makes the image feel whole.

This imagery will continue to inspire me throughout my project. I think i'll think about writing a story or my own experience. Perhaps if I do this first it will inspire me to make my own images and I'll know how I want to present my feelings in imagery.
Her style of photography is really powerful, yes visually actually simplistic. By this I don't mean that it's easy to make, but there's not too many elements to the image that deters from the message or meaning.

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