Pennywise

The cosplay shoot: Pennywise

Six images shot in open countryside, among dry grass, brambles and bare trees, under a flat white sky that drains the colour from everything else. The palette is almost monochrome, built on muted greens, greys and ochres: the only saturated accents are the red of the balloons, the pom-poms on the costume and the orange wig, which in that desaturated setting look like they belong to another image layered on top. The character is a female version of Pennywise, born from a Halloween with Valentina, who once again proves her skills as a makeup artist and seamstress: the white face with red lines crossing eyes and mouth, the sharp teeth, the ruffled collar and the ivory tulle dress with red bows and pom-poms.

The sequence moves between very different distances. In one frame the figure is small and far away, swallowed by the vegetation, recognisable only by the cluster of balloons floating beside her. In others the face fills the frame, with a gaze arriving from below or from above and a smile that slowly widens into a grin. One image shows the body suspended among the branches, lifted by the balloons, legs and red shoes hanging down.

The closing picture is the most static: the figure lying in the grass, face turned to one side, a long-fingered hand stretched into the foreground and the balloons still tied to the wrist. The mood stays suspended, closer to a spoiled fairy tale than to a declared horror scene.