A Gothic Beauty
A close crop of a parted mouth holding a white wire of small bulbs, printed with its black film border — the Trance study

The independent editorial practice of DeAndre Bailey Pope

A Gothic Beauty — The Grand Folio

Plate VI
Trance, the frame outside the blue Est. MMXVI
Photography · Fashion · Graphic design

Seven folios, bound in one

Index of plates

  1. IThe Plates003Photography — eight studies
  2. IIHeaven & Hell004Fashion — six garments
  3. IIIThe Sleeves005Graphic design — four studies
  4. IVThe Maker006Manifesto & practice
  5. VThe Commission007Inquiries & colophon

I.Photography

Fol. 003

The plates

Eight plates from the studies, dealt one over another like prints on a worktable. Each study started with a single frame I couldn't stop looking at.

Plate I / VIII

Purity

The water study

The pond as a room — green water, floral drift, a face held at the surface.

Photography · MMXXIV
Plate II / VIII

Perry

The red room

A doorway, a drape, saturated red held to the edge of theater.

Photography · MMXXIII
Plate III / VIII

Secret

High-key rite

Bone light on ivory ground; the shadowless portrait as ceremony.

Photography · MMXXV
Plate IV / VIII

Nocturnal

Hard light

Flash-cut beauty — lace, texture, and the discipline of black.

Photography · MMXXVI
Plate V / VIII

Rouge

Civic theater

A sculptural red coat against brick; the street as proscenium.

Photography · MMXXII
Plate VI / VIII

Trance

The blue studies

Blue light through dark curls; the bedroom as night chapel.

Photography · MMXVI
Plate VII / VIII

Tunnel Vision

The held stare

Wet curls, a black floral slip, and a gaze held straight down the lens.

Photography
Plate VIII / VIII

Icon

Street portrait

A zebra durag, tortoiseshell lenses lowered by hand, a painted wall behind.

Photography
01 / 08
A wet-haired portrait rising from dark green water — Purity study Pl. 01
Pl. 01Purity, the water study · MMXXIV
A seated figure framed in a doorway by a red drape — Perry study Pl. 02
Pl. 02Perry, the red room · MMXXIII
A face peering out from inside a split tree trunk, hands on the bark — Secret study Pl. 03
Pl. 03Secret, high-key rite · MMXXV
A vertical nocturnal portrait with sculptural beauty styling — Nocturnal study Pl. 04
Pl. 04Nocturnal, hard light · MMXXVI
A figure in a sculptural red coat against a brick wall — Rouge study Pl. 05
Pl. 05Rouge, civic theater · MMXXII
A blue-lit face lying among dark curls on white bedding, eyes to the lens — Trance study Pl. 06
Pl. 06Trance, the blue studies · MMXVI
A portrait with wet dark curls and a black floral slip, looking up into the lens — Tunnel Vision study Pl. 07
Pl. 07Tunnel Vision, the held stare
A man in a zebra-print durag lowering tortoiseshell sunglasses, a leather jacket over one shoulder, against a painted brick wall — Icon study Pl. 08
Pl. 08Icon, street portrait

II.Fashion

Fol. 004

Heaven & Hell

One collection, six garments, and every print on them made by hand. They hang between two words here, which is where the whole collection lives.

Full collection →
A Beautiful Matrimony — black crewneck with an all-over sacred print
IA Beautiful Matrimony · Crewneck
Lucille — crewneck with a chrome-edged haloed figure
IVLucille · Crewneck
Ark Angel — hoodie with a thresholded portrait print
IIIArk Angel · Hoodie
Vampire, Lust at First Bite — hoodie in one of the collection's two warm colorways
VVampire · Lust at First Bite · Hoodie
Nexus — grayscale marbled tee with a small white butterfly at the chest
IINexus · Tee
Phoenix Rising — flame-red tee with an angel rising from the ashes
VIPhoenix Rising · Tee

Full collection →

III.Graphic design

Fol. 005

The sleeves

Four record sleeves I made for myself, printed and leaned against the red wall. The same eye as the photographs, working in type and ink.

Reign — an original tribute sleeve for Prince: a figure dissolving into cyanotype-blue roses around a yellow ankh
ReignStudy 01
Compton — a black-and-white montage of street scenes, a police car, and graffiti tracklist, shown without the sleeve
ComptonStudy 02
Igor — a poster composition around the Igor sleeve
IgorStudy 03
When We All Fall Asleep — a regraded study of the record's cover photograph
When We All Fall AsleepStudy 04
Compton — the same black-and-white montage with a square album sleeve placed at its center
Compton — Sleeve placedStudy 02b

Self-directed studies. Three build on existing sleeve or press material and are neither commissioned by nor affiliated with the artists or labels; Reign is wholly original.

The full studies →

IV.Manifesto & practice

Fol. 006

The maker

I started A Gothic Beauty in 2016 with one camera, one hard light, and a soft spot for the dark. The work has grown since, but the habit hasn't: put the light where it matters, take away what doesn't, and stop while the picture still feels alive.

Founder
DeAndre Bailey Pope
Founded
January MMXVI
Based
Dallas, Texas
Practice
Independent — image & direction
Disciplines
Photography · Fashion · Retouch · Art direction · Design

DeAndre Bailey PopeFounder & Visual Content Director

The full biography →

A low-angle portrait in a bucket hat and white crop top against a blue glass tower — from the BALENCI study
BALENCIThe eye, at work

V.Inquiries & colophon

Fol. 007

Every picture starts as a conversation. Let's start one.

Photo editing and retouching, design work, or a question about the archive. I read every message myself and reply within two working days.

Instagram — @agothicbeauty ↗

X — @postsentient ↗

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