The aim of the project is to immortalize a world that, although still existing today, is already a thing of the past and is inevitably becoming history.
The photographs are taken using historical techniques, invented and used in the 19th century. The anachronistic nature of the methods is used on purpose – to show that the subject of the project is part of the past world, more suited to the period in which the techniques used were invented and triumphed, rather than to the present day.
North East India
India’s North East, the land of hundreds ethnic groups, old traditions and astonishing diverse culture. I started in 2022 exploring several places in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. The goal it to create a documentation of traditional communities in all North East states.
Author
Jan is a photographer and traveler mostly interested in vanishing cultures. He discovered historical techniques back in 2018. Since then, he has been discovering the paths of the first photographic explorers of the world.
Aghori
Aghori, most terrifying and scary Indian ascetics. It’s said that they exists between life and death. They usually live close to the crematory grounds and use human bodies to their religious rituals.
They perform Puja sitting on the body and collect “human oil” from corpse fat. Aghori are scavengers – they use to eat human flesh – and this is why they are usually called “cannibals”.
Peru
In Peru history lives in every corner, centuries-old traditions, costumes and vibrant festivals can be spot on regular basis. Add to it amazing diversity, from high mountains to lush jungles and you get an ideal place for Portrait of the Past