"Bambabee & Me", oil on canvas, 75 x 100 cm, 2015

 

The Big Picture / Heile Welt

 

How much of the past is romanticized; how much was ever true?  What present day images will evoke similar responses in the future?  Cultural nostalgia is the central theme being examined in this series. 

 

Scenes from old movies that evoke endearment and a feeling of well-being are shown.  The ”heimatfilm” genre from Austria, Germany and Swistzerland from the late 1940s to the early 1970s is particularly emphasized, depicting the culture's great love for the outdoors, ethnic dress and light-humored romance.  The images hold a reference to digital framing, though, which together with the contemporary colors and distortion create distance and remind us that they are a nostalgic memory.  The final image holds as much truth and illusion today as it did in the past.