JANE LONG
Dancing with Costică Series
Photographs have the power to transport us to another time and place, but what happens when the people captured in those images are brought back to life through the imagination of an artist? This is exactly what happened when Brisbane-based fine art photographer and artist Jane Long discovered the work of Romanian photographer Costică Acsinte.
Costică's photographs, taken in the 1930s and 1940s, were in the public domain since 1991, and it was this discovery that led Jane to pay homage to him in her series "Dancing with Costică." Inspired by the old strangers she saw in the photographs, Jane wanted to give them a new story, one that was a little bit surreal and imaginative. Through colorizing, compositing, and creating content, Jane was able to bring these people back to life, giving them a new and magical world to inhabit.
The series is a collaboration between Jane and the person who has taken it upon himself to conserve the archive, Cezar Popescu, who has restored and digitized the images. It is through his efforts that Jane was able to draw inspiration from Costică's work, and in turn, create her own imaginative reincarnations of the subjects. For Jane, the project was about giving these people a new story and making them characters in tales of her own invention. She wanted to leave it up to the viewer to determine if the characters in her images were good or bad, light or dark, and this is what makes her work so captivating. It invites the viewer to use their imagination and create their own narratives, making the experience of viewing the images a personal one.
Dancing with Costică series is a testament to the power of art and imagination. It shows how old photographs can be brought back to life, creating a new and magical world for the people captured within them. This series is a must-see for anyone who appreciates the beauty of storytelling through art.
MOST READ
