marjaana kella • reversed portraits

i first saw these portraits by finnish photographer marjaana kella a few years back when i was travelling in helsinki, and though i've never encountered them here in nyc, i guess they've stayed on my mind. they stir something strangely emotional. maybe because they feel so restrained and blank you can't help but project so much onto them. i think they also beautifully deconstruct they way we typically look at portraits.

marjaana also has a great series of people being hypnotised and you can take a peek at some of these here.

[all marjaana kella. (small photos) left: man in a white shirt, 1997/98. middle: woman in a red jacket, 1997. right: grey-haired man, 1997/98. installation view from her show at fotohof in austria, 2004. (big photos) top: woman in a patterned chemise, 1997/2002. middle: woman in a green cardigan, 1997/2002. bottom: girl in a pink cardigan, 1997/2002.]