Bobby Neel Adams was 36 when he noticed how much he resembled a picture of himself at age 6. He was inspired to create a composite image, splicing a new photo of himself with the image of him as a kid.
This was back in 1989, so he couldn’t use modern techniques.
“In the darkroom I sized up both images to the same proportions and made prints,” Adams wrote in an email. “Once these photographs were dry I tore the most recent portrait and laid it on top of the school photo, gluing it down the rubber cement.”
Adams continued using the same method for dozens of works in his “Age Map” series. Since then, he has explored other strange techniques, including splicing photos of couples and family members and, most recently, posing dead creatures in beautifully haunting scenes (currently showing in Brooklyn).
Adams shared a set from “Age Maps” below.
Lorna at 7 and 25
Sally at 14 and 62
Chris at 12 and 45
Christene at 7 and 41
Silvano at 12 and 51
Izzie at 4 and 36
Nick at 9 and 33
Kelly at 1 and 28
Christian at 6 and 41
Simone at 8 and 32
Tornado at 2 and 37
Dan at 7 and 35
Kevin at 3 and 33
Jonathan at 8 and 33
Werner at 6 and 33
Silvano at 8 and 51
Ray at 5 and 50
Kathy at 6 and 36
