'Not About Death': Artist Portrays Superheroes After They've Died
11/07/2014
featured Connect PhotographysuperheroCurators’ Corner
Forget kryptonite – Superman’s biggest obstacle is overcoming the never-ending passage of time.
In “Not About Death,” Argentinian photographer Romina Ressia delved into the subconscious mind with portraits of our childhood heroes - Superman, Snow White and Wonder Woman. Instead of being robust, powerful and immortal, Ressia’s superheroes are wrinkled, weak and…deceased. The eye-popping photographs portray our three beloved idols in their coffins, presumably at their funerals, clad from head to toe in their iconic uniforms.
As Ressia told the Huffington Post, the engaging photo series presents a jarring juxtaposition between immortality and death.
"It was a challenge because I know that people tend to feel uncomfortable in front of the passage of time and death," Ressia explained. "Mainly when the people in the coffin were characters that have been with us since our childhood and that we are not ready to imagine in this way."
She also hopes the project is able to shed some light on how we as mortals incorporate immortal “omnipotent” values into our lives.
"This project explores how we stand faced to the real world, as individuals, with the baggage we bring, which has been inculcated to us through cartoons, comics and fictional characters throughout our childhood. As many other children, I have grown up with the ideals of omnipotence, beauty, physical and supernatural powers. I have been told that evil never wins; that if I am in a dangerous situation, somebody else will save me, and that all stories have a happy ending. This series explores how strongly those values and beliefs have been incorporated into the collective memory."
To play the part of Superman, Ressia recruited 75-year-old Nestor, a recent widower who took up acting and modeling after his wife’s death. 94-year-old Cornelia donned the bonnet and elegant flair of Snow White, while Virginia, a grandmother who worked long hours to support her children, aptly became Wonder Woman for a day.
Check out some fantastic photos from the project below and visit Romina Ressia’s website for more information and links to other projects she has worked on.
