Opened 6.16.2018 - Atlanta, GA: Virtually

Artist Statement: This series was born from the initial desire of rediscovering who you are and where you were wanting to go. In it’s basic plot, someone falls asleep and eventually wakes up. What happens in-between though is a lucid dream (or nightmare) of absolutes and answers that were conjured during that sleep. Hidden in that dream are secrets to the questions that need to be answered. As much as this was initially a revisit to Beautiful Layered Lies, it is a mirror image to something completely different when you go backwards in order to move forward.

This is the last time I revisit this dream and re-explore the past for answers. There are many more other dreams to be made and they will come in time. But I know that within every dream we have there is an opportunity of discovering a little bit about ourselves even if it takes a little bit more time than expected to see it in black and white. Where I want to go does not carry the burden of this dream left dormant unresolved. It’s a brave new world of secrets.

Prints available for purchase at : https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/philipbonneau

Gods and Monsters was a dual showing with Atlanta photographer Blane Bussey done for the opening of Lost-N-Found Youth's new Thrift shop. 

It's works were a series of one offs I was playing around with as I was building my new series, "Brave New Secrets". It's two most notable pieces were "Applesauce" a spin on Lady Gaga's Applause album, and the artist self-portrait representation of Edger Allen Poe's "The Raven".

I don't consider Heroes + Villains: Lost + Found to be Issue #4 as much as I do perhaps an Annual #1. I have a very distinct concept of where this series will finally end. This Annual was more like a wiping of the palette after the emotionally intense "Ugly Simple Truths". I consider this show a return to a safe space and letting a created world flourish. This exhibition carried over characters from all 3 prior shows, but seen in a new light. Some that were intense were now humorous, and some that were secondary before were now in the spotlight. This exhibition was tied into the official Pride week calendar to be the celebration of individuality and acceptance that it had grown to become. Throughout the exhibit, props and costumes created for this series were on display.

Promoted by "Geeks OUT". This was a Sigourney Weaver Tribute Show where artist's of all types showcased artwork inspired by the actress and her iconic roles in cinema. 

This exhibition was held Thursday, April 4, 2013.

Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.” - August Wilson

Ugly Simple Truths opened July 19th, 2013. There were two ways to experience this show during the opening. You could view just the images or you can fall further down the rabbit hole with all of the model's stories written and displayed. These "truths" were laid bare for you to read, to process and to relate to at your will. The only thing required to know coming into “Ugly Simple Truths” is that it is a photographic exploration about the internal struggles of our lives that we deal with daily that lays hidden from everyone else from ever seeing. The choice is yours on how to address the elephant in the room and how much you want to know what is being discussed.

Issue #3 represents the young adult. You have traversed the childhood stage and have begun to gain a sense of the world around you. In this issue it was completely about identity and pushing the envelope in not only creativity, but truly believing that you can be whatever you want to be.

This exhibition was fully crowdfunded by over 220 donors. In mirroring where the series was going, it was the artist also asking viewers to "believe in me and take a chance on me." Raising over $15,000 in funds, I was able to purchase lighting equipment, a decent camera, and I began to make more complicated costumes and concepts that I was unable to do before. Sexuality, Religion, Identity and taboo subject matter were all addressed in this show, focusing mainly on the iconic Disney Villains. The main take away from this exhibition was celebrating uniqueness and finding the commonalities within the strange.

When the show opened it was met with over 200 attendees and I was able to raise more money for charity in a single night than what was originally contributed to the kickstarter campaign.

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The central theme of Issue #2 was about slowly building your own world. Issue #1 mainly introduced the characters, but for this exhibition I wanted to add to the world-building with a few more clues. There is an emerging sense of self and a touch of emotion in these images. I found the iconic DC characters to be the hardest of all to conceive in this entire series. They stand out more in a unique way than any other characters and finding a way to portray something new but obvious was a welcomed challenge. This would also be the first time that there were direct references to not only art history, but a mixture of pop-culture references as well within a single image.

Heroes + Villains #1 was sort of the test of concept exhibition and an introduction. The premise was imagination at its most asked for embodiment in this series, wherein the focus was primarily on the characters themselves with minimal to no background.

"Beautiful Layered Lies" was my first gallery showing and the first in a trilogy of exhibits based loosely on Alice in Wonderland and The Divine Comedy. Using allegories of both source materials, this series was the "Hell" section of overcoming trauma and going through the psychological stages of grief. The narrative of the story was told through dream metaphors and symbols. 

This was part of a Scavenger Hunt for an Art Gallery where you had xx amount of hours to photographically solve the clues, process and submit back. Winner of the Hunt got a month long gallery showing. I did not win the initial hunt I tried out for, but I did come back for the next one and won which led to these being my first gallery showing collection of images.