These photographs entitled "Days Of Our Lives" are named after the 3rd longest-running daytime American soap opera aired nearly every weekday in the United States and elsewhere since 1965. The original paintings were done by French painters in the 18th and 19th century depicting everyday life and are at the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon.
The paintings were re-shot as photographs with a twist, incorporating models who represented people from the French colonial empire such as north and east Africa, and Indochina. The background in the photographs still maintained the look and feel of a painting, as the space at Annexe Gallery Central Market was transformed using props and walls painted with colours similar to those of the original paintings. Some of the props were subtly altered to create a more contemporary approach and the wardrobe for the models portrayed muslim africans and middle easterns (who form the largest minority group in France), and the Vietnamese, while preserving the colour palettes of the original paintings. Look closely at the original paintings and compare them with the photographs, there are some interesting modification to discover!
Don't you think these photos look like actual people captured in a painting..?
The theme for this year's Lyon Biennale is "The Spectacular of the Everyday".
Reading (After Henri Fantin-Latour’s Le Lecture, 1877)
Playing for Dying Mother (After Puvis de Chavannes’ Jean Cavalier jouant le choral de Luther devant sa mere mourante, 1851)
The Soldier’s Farwell (After Michel Genod’s Les Adieux du soldat, 1824)
Mother & Child (After Suzanne Valadon’s Marie Coca et sa fille Gilberte, 1913)
