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All You Need to Know About The Quarantine Days Renaissance Project

Photographer and artist Mert Alas draws parallel between the present and the Renaissance period through a series of photographs

03 June, 2020
All You Need to Know About The Quarantine Days Renaissance Project

London-based photographer and artist Mert Alas, one half of the famous duo Mert and Marcus (Pigott), who have been credited for shaping the look of modern fashion photography, put up an interesting photography exhibition on his Instagram handle on May 27th. The exhibition over a series of photos blended art and photography to reimagine the Renaissance period in the context of the current times.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

QUARANTIE DAYS i’m so very excited and proud to share with you, the work of my fellow artists and followers . i asked you to interpret RENAISSANCE with me ,the idea of coming out of darkness , idea of adoration the human form ,the idea of pain and emotions ! you guys did an amazing work . i spent almost one month editing ,collaging ,colour grading,drawing o n your photos ,doing this work gave me great pleasure ,it took me out of darkness in to the light and i hope it did the same for you . in times like this ,being creative is very important i think ,it keeps our souls stable and our minds active like Oscar Wilde once said “it’s is through Art ,and through Art only ,that we can realise our perfection “ you are all PERFECT ❤️ #renaissance

A post shared by Mert Alas (@mertalas) on

 

There were Michelangelo like nudes, Da Vinci’s impassive Mona Lisa and Raphael inspired nature photographs reimagined in surreal backgrounds, saturated colours and a modern aesthetic. Alas called in entries for this “Quarantine Days Renaissance Project” on his Instagram account on April 29. He felt there were similarities between the current times and the trying times preceding the Renaissance period. He wrote in his post: “We haven’t had hundreds of years of plague and war, but we’ve had four interesting, difficult and sad months”.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RENAISSANCE⚡️ we are still stuck indoors and the banana bread making is getting boring i feel like it’s time to create some ART again ! your work and my work together .WE WILL COLLABORATE ON MAKING IMAGES ❤️ i was reading about Renaissance and it inspired me to this project about it . Renaissance took place in chaos and plague , wich describes how we are right now ! i feel we need to go forward by going backward ! rebirth of old ideas in new framework , keep the progress but RECOVER the lost values ! i think we can and i think we will . i remember the words or Alan Watts “how is it possible that being with such a sensitive jewels as the eyes ,such enchanted musical instruments as the ears and such fabulous arabesque of nerves as the brain can experience it self anything less then devine ” #rennaissance #quarantinedays

A post shared by Mert Alas (@mertalas) on

As Alas wondered if the pandemic would change people’s approach to art and fashion, he asked people to send him self-created images celebrating the human form, a major point of focus for Renaissance artists. He received an overwhelming response of around 2,000 entires, out of which he chose about 50 images and edited them by adding backgrounds, changing colours and collaging to reflect his own point of view.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

“you don’t take photograph ,you make it “ Ansel Adams

A post shared by Mert Alas (@mertalas) on

He launched the exhibition on his Instagram handle with a caption: “I asked you to interpret Renaissance with me, the idea of coming out of darkness, the idea of adoration of human form, the idea of pain and emotions! You guys did an amazing work.” What also stands out in the images are the ways in which people have shown ingenious ways of finding light, while quarantining at home. As Alas put it, “In times like this, being creative is very important. I think, it keeps our souls stable and minds active.”

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