A photographer has created a unique homage to controversial Australian break dancer Raygun using light photography in the California desert.
Darren Pearson, named after the artist Dario TwinHe used light to paint 44 individual images on his camera showing various moves from Raygun’s now infamous breakdancing routine at the Paris Olympics.
He put many of them together into a video with the images overdubbed with the actual sound of his performance in Paris.
The controversial nature of Raygun’s (real name Rachel Gunn) routine generated a lot of negative comments on Dariustwin’s post.
“Why not pay tribute to the winner, instead of the person who literally made fun of breakdancing?” read one comment on Instagram. “Ugh. Hope you enjoy the negative interaction with this post.”
Rachel Gunn (aka Raygun) has been immortalized in a series of light painting photographs.
Artist Dariustwin used light to recreate some of the Australian B-girl’s moves.
“Unfortunately she misled the real Olympic contestants to make Australia a laughing stock,” another comment read.
“She needs to be held accountable for stealing an Olympic seat,” read another comment. “There are so many people far more talented than her, her own company should not be allowed to give her a seat.”
But many more comments praised the artwork while risking criticism of Raygun’s performance in the process.
“This was much more impressive than the original performance,” reads the top comment.
“Raygun should thank you. You made her look good,” another comment read.
Another said: “While I find her performance an insult to the spirit of the (Olympic) Games, her artistry is incredible!”
Raygun has been facing calls for a public apology after her now-viral performance in Paris earned her zero points and she finished second to last among all B-girls in the competition.
Raygun sparked international controversy with his poor performance in Paris
In a Video posted on InstagramGunn thanked his supporters while addressing the controversy.
“Hey everyone, I’m Raygun,” he said in the video. “I just want to start off by thanking all the people who have supported me.
‘I really appreciate the positivity and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives, that’s what I was hoping for.
‘I didn’t realize that would also open the door to so much hate, which, frankly, has been pretty devastating.
‘I went out and had fun, but I took it very seriously. I worked really hard preparing for the Olympics and I gave it my all. I really did.
“I’m honoured to have been part of the Australian Olympic team and to have participated in breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has been phenomenal.”