All images ©Jan von Holleban
A little something arrived in the post a month or two ago and has had me charmed to no end ever since. It came in the form of Jan von Holleban´s recently published book Dreams of Flying 2. They are really enjoyable images that are easy on the eye, neat in their composition and quizzical in their humour.
Here is the press release from the project:
"Crossing the desert on the back of a dog, or searching for lost treasures on the bottom of the ocean. Inspired by classic childhood books as well as modern superheroes von Holleben’s photographs allow children to make their dreams come true. His focus on the visual representation of childhood, 'Child-History' and concepts of 'Playing', come from his teacher training course and he combines these theories with his personal experience and childhood memories.
Jan von Holleben spends his time between Berlin and London and his homeland in South East Germany where he produces the majority of his photography. Involving his local neighbourhood kids and their friends with his playful and adventurous ideas. 'Dreams of Flying' is his most acclaimed photographic project to date and was published as a special limited edition board-book.
Born 1977 in Cologne and brought up in the Southern German countryside, von Holleben lived most of his youth in an alternative commune environment. At the age of 13 he followed his father's photographic career by picking up a camera and experimenting with all sorts of ‘magical’ tricks, constantly developing his photographic skills with friends and family. Following a professional photographic apprenticeship with a commercial photographer and learning all about the technical side of the art, he moved to England aged 23 to study at Surrey Institute of Art and Design in Farnham. After his graduation he became submerged within the London photographic scene where he quickly set up two photographic collectives, became involved as picture editor and photographic director for magazines and agencies and won several prestigious awards a year with his own photography. Jan von Holleben’s work is now widely published in magazines and books and he has had solo exhibitions in New York, Berlin and Paris."
Also featured here is a little animation experiment for The Postal Service's "There's Never Enough Time," inspired by the photographs of Jan Von Holleben. Consider it the unofficial music video. Hope you like it!
