Ad Infinitum
Kris Vervaeke
Self-Published
Hardcover
264 pages
140 x 200 mm
2013
ISBN 9789090276908
This is a selection from more than 1,000 pictures taken of portraits found on the tombstones in Hong Kong’s cemeteries. Each of them had a memorial portrait on porcelain that show the person in real life – portraits, personal and often intimate, that were never meant to be used as a memorial but functioning as a portrait of the person’s entire life. The portraits have been isolated from the headstones on purpose. Out of the context of the cemetery and away from the idea of death. The focus lies on the portrait itself, of the people in their present. Over time the portraits are exposed to sun, extreme temperatures and humidity leaving them to become quite abstract. In the end, we are left with the simple abstract beauty of the image as such. The portrait series exposes both the strength of the individual face and the perishable nature of the individual human body. The clear images make us want to connect and know their stories. The fading images reference mortality of human life, and the limitations of our impact. Subconsciously, our interest in the individual fades as the portraits become less clear. It is quietly replaced by our draw to the beauty of the abstract image. We will be remembered only by the children of our children. As the faces fade further, anonymity returns and once again we become part of nature… ad infinitum.(source: https://www.dodho.com/ad-infinitum-by-kris-vervaeke/)
About the Artist
Kris Vervaeke was born and raised in Belgium, and primarily focuses on documentary photography.
www.krisvervaeke.com
