Lions, Tigers, Performance Artists, OH MY!

So I've been slacking (more than a little) on this whole blog thing.  Therefore I'll be playing catch up over the next couple of days.

Below is my tear sheet from Issue #21 of  JPEG Magazine, which came out a few months ago.

I made this image back when I lived in Miami and get asked about it often.  No, that is not a statue.  It is, indeed, a monster of a performance artist. 

The story of how this image came to be is quite simple really.  I've always loved costumes, characters, circus performers, etc. - So much so, that I often joke that my dream job would be to tour with Cirque Du Soleil, as their staff photographer (which isn't really a joke at all). 

I saw this character one evening outside of a club on Miami Beach.  I was immediately awe struck and asked if he might be interested in a collaboration.  As it would turn out, he was.  We discussed concepts... I found the perfect white house, with the perfect little white picket fence, and the perfect little model, (who watched him 'get into character', so as not to be scared).  Funny enough, the owner of the home was so excited by the whole production (and the fact that I had asked to photograph his house) that he actually came out and took pictures of me taking these pictures.