A Parallel Planets piece by Unknown
Parallel Planets presents Amy Friend
in Rebirth in Light
Story by Joy Celine Asto
Mentioned: old photographs, playful interventions, bringing back to light
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Old photos will always have this unique appeal that, apart from bringing us back to a point in time or a bygone era, reminds us of a certain aesthetic that is irreplaceable and often difficult to imitate even with today's modern ways. This is most likely why many artists and creative minds look back, draw inspiration from, and try to incorporate vintage elements and old photography in their work. However, only a few manage to play around with them nicely while also giving justice to the originals.
Those were my first thoughts upon seeing the ingenious work of Canadian artist, Amy Friend. For one of her series, she made use of a simple trick to add magic and mystery to some beautiful old photographs: by carefully piercing holes through them. When the vintage photos are held against the light, the strategically punched holes allow light to pass through, illuminating the images in an enchanting way and making it seem like fairies and fireflies were part of the picture.
Amy has called her "small deliberate interventions" done on found photographs Dare Alle Luce, an Italian phrase used to describe the moment of birth. Putting into context the way viewers discern a new dimension and feel to the altered vintage photos, the way Amy added her own touches to the originals certainly fit the concept of rebirth with light.
As to why she chose to look for vintage photographs instead of taking her own photos, Amy has told Lenscratch that she wanted to work with photographs that she did not have any direct connection to. "Their primary connections were severed which resulted in a removal of their original meaning to a certain degree," she also said, which made me believe that the lost meaning made it easier for her to infuse the photos with new meaning and her own narratives.
On her enchanting series, Amy says:
"In the Dare alla Luce series, I initially responded to a collection of vintage photographs, retrieved through a variety of sources. Through hand-manipulated interventions I altered and subsequently re-photographed the images making photographs that would oscillate between what is present and what is absent. I aim to comment on the fragile quality of the photographic object but also to the equal fragility of our lives, our history. All are lost so easily.
"In a literal and somewhat playful manner, I aimed to give the photographs back to the light. After all, photographs are made possible with light."
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Author's Note: The images in this post were grabbed from Len Scratch.
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