My Not So Distant Ancestors

Anatoly Baratynsky’s present series, deals with the dimension of time.
Baratynsky takes a journey in time with the help of old family photographs – great-grandparents, their daughter standing by her husband and their children – are portrayed in a photo that is probably apart of any family album.Baratynsky takes different actions while reprocessing the family photo. He begins by etching the figures in black and white, sticking to monochrome, typical of both daguerreotypes and ancient paintings. After that he sets up a grid comprised of computer pixels that covers the whole painting and which looks like a contemporary TV or computer screen. Thus, he creates a barely discernible veil between us and the inhabitants of the Past. The grid is seen clearly at the rim of the works, where it blooms in all different colors and hues, thus creating the kind of vibration reminiscent of Impressionist
works. Nonetheless, all the works are painted in a grid of dark green and yellowish brown, thus combining this ultramodern structure with archaic coloring.
For Baratynsky, the subtle connection between the old and the new, symbolizes the indissoluble bond between a man and his roots.