For those of you who don’t know Rene Magritte, he was a famous Belgian surrealist painter (1898-1967) with his most known works showing illusions, things that are not what they seem. The bowler hat should look familiar, and also the picture of the pipe with the inscription ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’ (This is not a pipe), referring to the fact that is not a pipe, just a depiction of a pipe.
Working on a smoke picture of my last batch, I noticed something that reminded me of Magritte’s typical bowler hat, and even a suit, seeing the potential of a picture that could look like the work ‘Son of Man’ or even more like the work in the background on Magritte’s portrait by photographer Lothar Wolleh, so I decided to develop it and make it a homage to Magritte..
In the picture on the left, I give you a glimpse behind the scenes, how this picture came to being, from a single photo of smoke, with a crop, mirror effect and some editing into the idea of a man in a suit and a bowler hat.I hope you like it, and maybe take the time to look into Magritte’s work, and also photographer Lothar Wolleh.
incredible simplicity.. smoke should be the sixth element.