What happens if we translate past images of people to the present? The photographer Mark Abouzeid explores this question with his striking series of re-imagined Renaissance portraits. These images (which caught our attention on Faith is Torment) reconstruct iconic paintings of people in the past emulated by their photographed equivalents. Since we once relied on portraits to render our true semblance, photography is perhaps the most appropriate medium for repurposing such images today. In the age of the profile picture (and the selfie), we no longer require these kinds of structured images of ourselves, and as a result the stifled Renaissance portraits on the left appear quite alien to the contemporary viewer. But how are these poses really that different from the forged ones scattered across Facebook or Instagram today? Take a look through Abouzeid’s work – profile pictures from the past, perhaps? – to decide for yourself.
Image Credit: Mark Abouzeid
Image Credit: Mark Abouzeid
Image Credit: Mark Abouzeid
Image Credit: Mark Abouzeid
Image Credit: Mark Abouzeid
Image Credit: Mark Abouzeid
Image Credit: Mark Abouzeid