It is not often that the world accepts a new face, but this is one of those rare cases in which different voices from all over the globe are screaming the same name in unison: Szilveszter Makó. The Hungarian Milan-based photographer and creative director became a social media sensation for his distinctive theatrical photographs and in these last years he expanded his work with big A-list names in Hollywood.
His photography has captivated the internet, they can’t be described or be encapsulated in only one word, they are a mix of things, theatrical, renaissance-like, surrealist, Daguerreotype inspired, with a mix of german expressionism. At some point I could mix different arts and movements as what I thought it was the inspiration of his oeuvres d’art. Sometimes I could think of them as one frame of the films Nosferatu or Metropolis, of German expressionism or as a Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo Da Vinci and also as some vestiges of the old technique of Daguerreotype. If anything, it made me curious and try to discover all of its components.
Makó stated in an interview that he is quite impatient and his path to photography was not love-at-first-sight, since he first tried painting. He found himself not patient enough to create in that art form so he moved his pursuits onto photography. He works mainly with natural light and an art department team that brings to life his ideas. He is known for his mise en scéne, props made with recycled materials and built to appear in a theatrical manner, giving structure and movement to the image.
One peculiarity of his work is the figure of the box; it is a repetitive shape in many of his photographs. It appears as the container of the scene or as an object with which the characters interact, such as the prompt of the house, floors,and other art decors. The photographer told the website Atribune how the box represents restriction and liberation, and even though it can be interpreted in different ways it definitely makes unique his visual language.
His creations were amplified by his regular works with well-known celebrities, magazines and brands, including first lady Rama Duwaji, Willem Dafoe, Michelle Yeoh, Bad Bunny, Elle Fanning and Cate Blanchett among others. Furthermore he collaborated with brands such as Adidas, Zara, Maison Margiela and magazines like Dazed, The Cut, Acne Paper, Vogue and Vanity Fair.
If one thing can be said is that Szilveszter Makó is an innovator and he will mark a before and after in the world of photography. We surely will see more of his amazing work and continue to learn that creativity can be a mix of things bringing to life an unique view.
