The magician fools the eye: while we are distracted by one thing, his sleight of hand reveals another. Cameras in themselves are a box of tricks and in his photographs, Amyx often uses flowers as props, mixing the brilliant colour of exotic blooms with the stark depths of black and white photography. We are drawn to the splendour of the Amyx nude, but our eye is at first hypnotised by the patch of colour, confusing our senses and drawing us as if spellbound into the photograph. Take the mauve orchid: it appears vibrant with life, but cut from its roots it is already dying, while the hand the bears it is ripe with throbbing existence. The golden-headed sunflower grows in the desert but if we cross that wasteland, it is the statuesque nude who will be waiting for us. The naked girl is the future, the sunflower a glimpse of something passing, unattainable.
Doesn't the phallic lily remind us of our mission to procreate? And the bloom growing from the neat tucks and coils of a vagina reveal, inevitably, the girl's fertility, everything earthy, sensual, charged with the pleasures of living. Andy Amyx is drawn to the deep shadows and sharp contrasts of black and white, but has always been surrounded by colour. Born in Houston Texas, he grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was influenced in his work by his mother, a reporter and photojournalist. As well as Herb Ritts, Brett Weston, Avadon the list goes on.