Introduction
Ad Infinitum
This is a selection from more than 1,000 pictures taken of portraits found on the tombstones in China’s cemeteries. Memorial portraits on porcelain that show the person in real life. Portraits, personal and often intimate, that were never meant to be used as a memorial. A single image selected to convey a whole 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. Over time the portraits are exposed to rain, sun, extreme temperatures and humidity. The portraits expose both the strength of the individual face and the perishable nature of the individual human body. An inherent contradiction of our existence. 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.
The series was also presented in a book 'Ad Infinitum' (self published in nov 2013).
'Ad Infinitum' was shortlisted for the ParisPhoto-Aperture Foundation First PhotoBook Awards 2013:
Vince Aletti says that, in aggregate, Ad Infinitum “is about the fugitive nature of portraiture, the impossibility of creating a final likeness. I just love looking at anonymous faces. Most of them are less here than gone, evoking thoughts of how we try, unsuccessfully, to fix people’s images in our minds. The book is beautifully and very simply designed, with the images given generous borders on pages that are evenly divided between black and white. It’s a simple yet lovely book.”