Photographer Andreas Franke has created mythical underwater world for a new exhibition – but you can only see it with your scuba gear on.
Armed with his camera, Mr Franke dove down to the Vandenberg, a United States missile tracking ship that sunk in 2009 off the coast of Key West, Florida, and used the spectacular images he took as a canvas for a surreal civilisation that never existed.
One Year after Andreas Franke’s visit to the Vandenberg his images of the wreck were filled with charming stories and now it is high time to show them. No better place as the place where the project began.
Since August 4th 2011 divers can benefit from a very special experience and find a package of 12 images placed on the hulk of the artificial reef General Hoyt S. Vandenberg located 100 feet below sea level and about seven miles south of Key West.
Andreas Franke’s exhibition has twelve pictures showing every day scenes from past times. The stage of those scenes is the place the pictures are exhibited now, the Vandenberg.
The images are encased between sheets of Plexiglas with a stainless steel frame. A silicone seal keeps out the water. The images are attached to the ship by strong magnets which grants a damage free removing after the end of the exhibition.
The fascinating scenes are on display in an exhibition called ‘The Vandenberg: Life Below the Surface‘ but you won’t find them in an orthodox gallery.
Cinema: Young lovers catch a movie with the fish
Boxing: A young boy looks on as boxers fight underwater
Balance beam: A child from another time plays on the railings of the wreck
Mr Franke says the photographs show ‘mystified scenes of the past that play in a fictional space.’
They are dream worlds where you can get lost or that you can identify with. This makes a new and unexpected atmosphere.
Exercise class: Gymgoers exercise in the surreal space
Hanging out the washing: A woman in 1940s dress goes about her daily chores
Kiddies playing: Children in period dress play in the ship’s interior
Ballet: Ballerinas practice their art
The collection of photographs capture people going about their daily lives, whether ballerinas en barre, young lovers at the cinema, a patient being wheeled along by a nurse, or young children playing.
Exhibit: Divers, pictured, view the photographs adorning the walls of the shipwreck
Unique: Gallery goers can use the exhibition by boat from Key West, Florida
Source: Daily Mail.co.uk
