Art: Veiled Aura

Two weekends ago, I headed to Fat Faced Cat – one of my favourite vintage shops in London – searching for something for my fiancé to wear on our upcoming wedding day. Whilst he found the most perfect pair of vintage maroon/golden braces, I went home with three 1940s photographs of the same couple of girls on a trip to the Isle of Man.

There’s something undeniably appealing about having a sneeky glimpse, however small, on the lives of others – in particular if they’re not here anymore – lending names to faces and trying to image their real stories once the camera stopped clicking.
But many, many steps ahead of this fascination with portraits from the past is Italian-born, London-based artist Maurizio Anzeri’s work.

Creating the most haunting art from vintage photographs, his pieces boast colourful threads delicately sewn onto the unknown faces of yore. Embroidered not unlike elaborate ethnic costumes, the patterned masks – silky in shimmer and bold in shape – are often filled with melancholy or downright contentment, conveying to the observer the emotional aura of the veiled subjects.

For more on his work, do check this article.
 

Words: Lola Roftoples Mealha