The first confrontation with the images, presented by Gabriela Crăciun, is surprising, even a little shocking for purists of photographic printing. And then, after the voluntary questioning, my brain (or what’s left of it!) started to work.
The photographs are old; but, very neat. The results of very professional craftsmen. The time, the twentieth century. The technical quality of the testimonies matches the object to be immortalized: it was the happiest day of their lives for these women (at least, many of them still thought so), in a century in full mutation in the western world. The prints on silver paper were “hunted” methodically and with great care by the designer, in places where there are still some of these beautiful works.
Great collection of vintages!
It is then that the creative process continues for Gabriela. For her, this so-called most beautiful day, for women of generations prior to world conflicts, became the starting point of their social burial. They disappeared from society’s radar to devote themselves, exclusively, to their family. Their wedding photography has become the point (of no return) for all these brides. To defend her point, the photographer decided to intervene on these images with the greatest care to maintain the original message of the shot and the philosophical and psychological questions. The testimony through the image being preserved, the additional embroidery is then imposed by the technical mastery and the symbolic choices of the author.
No doubt, the association works perfectly. For the discerning, I invite you to take the time to observe, immerse and reflect. No doubt, questions follow questions, through sequences of answers which appear, little by little, in these long-winded riddles, much more talkative than it appeared at the first photographic glance.
Thierry Maindrault
