Fiann Paul - Photography

Fiann Paul photographs North Atlantic Cultures particularly those of the West Nordic countries Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands in their folk or ancient form. His work often alludes to fantasy visual arts so his work is referred to as fantasy photography. Vikings, Celtic and medieval folk, fables, fairy tales and sagas inspire his fantasy realms. All of these themes can be found in his photography. Greenland is one of his biggest inspirations and a whole section of his work is dedicated to Arctic photography, which he creates in northern Greenland. In the Arctic subject, ancient Inuit culture is reconstructed and sometimes merges into fantasy or fairy tale appearance. Among his many credits in his productions, Fiann often designs the clothes for his photo shoots based on the Northern, Viking, Celtic or Arctic Inuit cultures.

Another field of focus in his visual arts is Mysticism. Mystic photography is not particularly related to any part of the world. Most of his Mystic photographs are taken in the Himalayas others in the North Atlantic above the West Nordic countries. Mystic photographs focus on the depth and presence of the spirit and compared to the Fantasy or the Arctic ones are less contoured to a particular culture. Most of the Mystic photographs picture indigenous cultures in present times, whereas the Arctic and Fantasy photographs reconstruct the ancient North. Finally, both of these aspects of his work are inter-twined simultaneously and bring a taste of the indigenous or aboriginal to these themes.

Children and youth are often the conduits between the folk stories and fables in the Fantasy and Arctic photographs. Moss & Ocean, one of Fiann Paul’s original fairy tales refers to the Inuit culture and its ancient beliefs. The main characters in the story are the Spirits of Nature, the Elements, the Great Spirit and Mother Nature.

The Fantasy themes portray a rare example of the quests of heroic archetypes in photography and were strongly influenced by the Legends, Myths, and Sagas of the North. "The photography that brings Myths back to life" is often mentioned in the reviews of his work. But his biggest inspiration has always been the Sky above the North Atlantic, which brings about his focus on these lands and nourishes his art. "Sky above the North" is the title of his first series of exhibitions and a special thanks in his first book is given to the "Sky of the North Atlantic".