Face to Face
In her new book, The Somnambulists, Edinburgh-based photographer Joanna Kane offers up a series of beautiful but haunting portraits. Haunting, because the portraits are of life and death masks cast more than 150 years ago. There's something fascinating about these intimate photos of people who lived before the invention of photography. Even more fascinating, some of the subjects are famous by name but not face. From top to bottom, that's John Keats, William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Wordsworth. Images from The Somnambulists are currently on display at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery through April 4.
Via Creative Review.
Wow. I'd seen the Blake but not the others. Thanks!
Posted by: Mark McGuinness | March 06, 2008 at 02:40 AM
I have created "living" (death) masks of friends using alginate and pouring them in stone. The word "fascinating" definitely is the correct term to describe these things.
Great post!
Posted by: Adnohr Yak | March 28, 2008 at 07:38 PM