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Melaney Wardell
USA
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“I can't remember a time photography wasn't a part of my life.”
Melaney Wardell is a photographer and currently pursuing a photography major at Savannah College of Art and Design. She is primarily concentrated on documentary photography. Through her work, she has been challenging the norms and generalized idea of beauty by focusing on capturing the decay and destruction in everything around her. It could be the destruction of a bouquet, the aftermath of a wild night, or also the destruction in cemeteries.
Afternoon in the Cemetery | Black & White Photography
$250
16 X 20
While waling through the Catholic Cemetery I glanced up for a brief moment and I saw the largest crypt I had ever seen and it was framed perfectly by the foliage. I thought this picture was a lovely establishing shot as it showed the setting without being too cliche.
The artist didn’t take her photography lessons very seriously until high school when she was able to take her first photography class. However, once she started, that was all she wanted to do. She applied to several art-centric colleges because she knew that she wanted to pursue photography professionally and didn’t want to take classes that would not contribute to achieving her goal.
Weeping Angel | Black & White Photography
$250
20 X 16
The Weeing Angel struck me. It was not a shot I originally went looking for but I felt compelled to photograph it when I noticed how emotional the statues was of the Angel folding in on itself truly the epitome of weeping.
Melaney was not always into documentary photography. Initially, she started with fine art photography, but a conversation at an art fair changed her perspective. She was attending a major and minor fair and spoke to a professor about what she wanted to do with photography. As soon as the professor heard her, she told the artist that her focus was wrongly placed. That was the day she switched to documentary photography.
“Beauty is everywhere if you just look for it.”
Melaney’s academic experience has shaped her approach by connecting her roots in fine art and journalism photography together. It has connected all her photography experiences and allowed her to see the world in a realistically beautiful way, something that she couldn’t do before. Her urge to see beauty in things that most people find undesirable — decay and destruction, started with her fine art photography class in high school.
Growth | Black & White Photography
$250
16 X 20
I really enjoy the contradiction of Growth. It shows all the blooming plant life of the cemetery hiding all the aspects of death and decay. I think this image really captures the idea of man vs nature.
[mu]shrooms was a pleasant surprise. As I was watching my step through the cemetery, I stumbled upon this set of mushrooms. I thought they really captured the idea of decay and growth. These were the only mushrooms I found throughout all the cemeteries.
![[mu]shrooms | Black & White Photography](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bd6080_2929515bd5bc4426a911df248f335b98~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_2975,h_1655,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/bd6080_2929515bd5bc4426a911df248f335b98~mv2.jpg)
[mu]shrooms | Black & White Photography
$250
16 X 20
She got so sick of seeing pretty images and how the beauty standards were so ignorant of the true beauty that is often hidden beneath the layers of societal standards. When other photographers saw a bouquet, they would take lovely, well-lit, pretty pictures of it. However, Wardell saw the same bouquet and wanted to light it on fire. She wanted to take pictures of the bouquet when it was dead or destroyed. She was just bored with what she was seeing in critiques and craved to make something new.
“Of course, I think there is beauty in everything; I am just partial to the beauty in decay and destruction as compared to the picture-perfect traditional side.”
![[mu]shrooms | Black & White Photography | Melaney Wardell | TERAVARNA](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/da4def_de153514782045da93359fd7f91d032c~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_2262,h_2230,q_90,enc_avif,quality_auto/da4def_de153514782045da93359fd7f91d032c~mv2.jpg)
“My focus in photography has always been on finding the unexpected beauty in life. I think it is important to be able to find beauty in nontraditionally beautiful events so I always aim to convince my viewers to appreciate the mess of life and see the beauty in the destruction.”
Melaney’s inspiration for a new series can come from anything like the lyrics of a song, a book, a movie, or some unique or unusual place that defies the standard ideals of beauty. After that, she gets into ideating that inspiration. She loves to create word web and mood boards for her shoots. Then comes the part where she plans her shoots from start to end. She generally prefers to keep a list of shots she wants but sometimes also takes spontaneous shots if it catches her attention.
Mother | Black & White Photography
$250
16 X 20
As I was observing all the gravestones I noticed what I thought was a stray brick in the ground. Once I approached it I realized it was a sinking lone gravestone. I thought it was incredibly lonely and wanted to capture that feeling.
The artist is a Photoshop girl and it is her favorite editing software for any of her editing requirements. It is her go-to choice. After she completes her editing process, she exposes her works to critiques to get as much feedback as she can. She feels it's imperative to get feedback because it allows her to see her photographs from a new perspective and make improvements. She uses the feedback to make any necessary adjustments in her work and before finally posting it on her photography Instagram for the world to see.
angel | Black & White Photography
$250
16 X 20
angel was a statue I noticed through all the litter. I wanted to show the innocence of the angel while also illustrating the decay of the gravestone.
Melaney Wardell’s latest collection is called ‘Antithetical,’ meaning directly opposed, contrasted, or mutually incompatible. The idea behind the project was to explore the cemeteries in Savannah. With this series, the artist has deep-dived into the idea of the co-existence of life and decay because wherever there is life, there is also death. She wanted to capture the underlying beauty in decay and the existence of life in a place most commonly associated with death.
Angel was a broken statue near angel. I wanted to illustrate the difference in statues and the level of decay and destruction that occurs overtime.
Angel | Black & White Photography
$250
16 X 20
“My goal is to convince my viewers to appreciate the mess of life and see the beauty in the destruction.”
gravestone | Black & White Photography
$250
16 X 20
gravestone is a digital double-exposure I made to illustrate the amount of growth and decay that occurs on the gravestones. I felt that a double-exposure pushed the idea of decay and the strength of nature.
Cemeteries are capsules of time. They are where the bodies of the deceased lie, where plants thrive, and where the living pay their respects. Life and time are two main aspects of eternal resting places. Where there is life there is also decay. While life and time are always moving forward historical sights are either maintained or left to rot.
Funeral Lily was a lily I found that had been planted at someone's grave. I thought the idea of the lily growing alongside the grave really captured the idea of time and life.
Funeral Lily | Black & White Photography
$250
16 X 20
Melaney wants to document these cemeteries as they are now. Who’s to say in a few years if they will still be there? She has aimed to show the level of destruction and growth of these cemeteries. Life is not always sunshine and rainbows. So it is vital that people find beauty in the destruction. These cemeteries are full of death and decay, but they are also enchanting.
Sunset at the Cemetery |Black & White Photography
$250
16 X 20
Sunset at the Cemetery was the last image I took for this project. As I was approaching the leaves growing on the grave I noticed the sun light peeking through. I thought this image created a dream like closing scene for this [project that documented the beauty in decay.
“I hope that the viewers can look at my work and be able to find something beautiful that they previously didn’t think was beautiful.”
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