Olivier
Quartier Vienot
Marseille, France
By: Cassandra Price
Order of the dates for the pictures from left to right:
July 21, 2000; July 21, 2000; November 1, 2000; November 30, 2000; June 18, 2001; June 2, 2002; July 13, 2003
Rineke Dijkstra chooses to capture once again the progression of a subject over a period of time in the heartbreaking series known as Olivier. The series follows a young man as he transcends from the world of adolescent youth into the gritty and harsh atmosphere of the military. These were more than just photographs of a man over the course of 3 years. They tell the story of what this man has seen in the war through his eyes and increasingly stern facial expressions. All 7 pictures were taken in front of a similar white backdrop with the man in a similar, generic pose. All pictures feature him from mid-chest up, and the focal point is the man’s face. Thus, it forces the viewers to looking deep within the complexity of this individual, and makes for a very intriguing portrait series.
You can see the slow progression of this individual as the pictures move along from left to right. Comparing the first picture from July 21, 2000 to the final picture of July 13, 2003, we see a dramatic difference. He looks at least 10 years older; meanwhile he is only 3 years older. This aging effect can be interpreted to have been a direct effect of the war. In the first picture, he has a more awkward stamina and big, full eyes. His eyes have slight traces of possible fear, and he has a slight baby face. In the last picture, his facial muscles are more tense and he appears to have an agitated expression. His hair is shorter and he is in uniform, but there are more changes beyond the exterior. It is quite obvious when we delve deeper into the intensity of his eyes that he is a changed man, and Dijkstra reflects this clearly in her portrait series.
When we compare the first picture of Olivier versus the last, we see the true transformation and just how drastic of a change he went through in barely 3 years. (To the left)
Source & More information: http://www.strozzina.org/ritrattidelpotere/e_dijkstra.php
