Scott Newett
Dork
Eggs
Diver
Rocket Man
Horsey Love
Peepcorn
Stormtroopers
Solo Man
About Scott Newett
Advertising obsesses with the surface of things. Products and people are primped and primed, manipulated to the point of perfection. It’s all about facades. What happens then, when a practitioner of the trade is motivated not by a brief, but by curiosity and creative drive?
Scott Newett is an advertising photographer, best known for his liquids and beverage work throughout Australasia, and he has used his tricks of the trade to develop a unique style of photography best described as hyper-real. Surprisingly though, his personal work is not fabricated digitally; the high key colours, shadows and warped perspectives he achieves are created with signature lighting techniques. But instead of presenting products – or people – in their best light, Newett’s series, cleverly styled by Hayley Callander, hint at nefarious activities and epic fails.
His Talent Series depicts a bunch of blokes with a distinct lack thereof – these guys don’t have a clue. In each photograph things are amiss. Despite being given all of the best accoutrements, Newett sets his characters up for failure, and that’s why we love them. Doggedly determined, Newett’s guys appear ready for action in stunt cars, on bikes and in the squash court, but something always disrupts their intentions – a string of sausages lies inexplicably on the ground, Star Wars storm-troopers make a guest appearance, it’s all just a bit wrong.
Newett’s photographs playfully hint at fragments of narrative but ultimately remain unresolved. His characters are left to their own devices and we construct stories for them. Outside of the forceful world of advertising, the artist encourages us to make up our own minds.
Great images: full of humor and and a raw truth. I really like “Rocket Man.”