Today while listening to a podcast of a conversation with Roni Horn concerning her show “Roni Horn aka Roni Horn”, the question of portraiture came up. Horn talks about how there is a difficulty to making any work with strangers and why some photographers (I use this term for this post – but Horn insists she isn’t one) can only truly make good portraits of people they are personally connected to. Lydia Panas seems to be this type of artist.

A Suspended Moment © Lydia Panas

Her photographs, which initially seem quite casual, extrude an odd yet completely strong sense of the familial. Perhaps it’s the framing and how the subjects are simply ‘plopped’ in front of a backyard forest scene, or maybe it’s their similar style of dress. Whatever it is, Panas has achieved a unique way of taking portraits which are captivating in their quiet fabrication. If you’re in Warsaw, Poland she has a solo exhibition on from September 15th – October 25th at Yours Gallery. The opening is on the 15th at 7pm and be sure not to miss Panas’ artist talk on Wednesday the 16th at 7pm.

As a side note, Panas is the only photographer I’ve seen who actually knows how to use the dreaded “dutch angle”.

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