An artist living in Jordan is unlocking the mysteries of the past by restoring historical photos of Jordanian and Middle Eastern sites.
Kelvin Bown, a self described globe trotter, said he looks for pictures of the region that date back to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, and uses modern technology to bring the photos back to life.
For Bown, restoring the images is more than just art, it is a portal into a time when the Middle East witnessed peace and co-existence.
“It’s nice to use these tools to bring the past to life, to make it more tangible, more closer to the people and also more alive. To try to show that this region was so different, before it was so co-existent and harmonic and sustainable,” he said.
“For example there were no real problems between different sections of the communities here, and also there were no borders. I felt that it was a very healthy region and it’s nice to be able to present this kind of period of time to people today,” he added.
Bown searches for pictures from various archival sources or private collections.
The original pieces he works with are often considerably damaged, which he corrects by enhancing colour contrasts or by using information found elsewhere in the picture to fill gaps.
He insists that each picture is unique, and can take anywhere from a couple of hours of work to over 100 hours of work. But he says the long hours are worthwhile, as they enable the picture to reach its full potential.
“This kind of technology wan’t available at that time, for example the panoramas like this. They took these beautiful shots but they wouldn’t have been able to combine them together, because the angles were different. You can’t just cut them out and stick them together, they don’t fit, so a lot of things we can do now, we wouldn’t have been able to do then,” added Bown.
The restored pictures are on display in several galleries in Amman, including Jasmine house and the Landmark Hotel. Some of the exhibits include a panoramic picture of Jerusalem from the early 1900s, and a photo of a bedouin man in Petra.
One American, Carol Lee Clark, who has been living in Jordan for several months, bought one of Bown’s creations to keep a memento of the region.
“I love Jordan, I came to Jordan 8 years ago as a Fulbright scholar and spent a year here, and then came back this year to teach again. I’ll probably come again in a couple of years, I really like the people here and the students. I’m really pleased to have something to put on the wall that will remind me of my time here,” she said.
Bown’s gallery, Fertile Crescent, will remain on display until August.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016
