When photographer Jan von Holleben was approached by German newspaper ZEIT to create visual work for a feature on dreams and what they mean to us, he furiously sketched out concepts and stories. Known for his Dreams of Flying series, the newspaper asked him to create something similar – to incorporate his trademark “lying on the floor” poses.
“I was a bit bored by redoing my Dreams of Flying images,” he tells us, “but the more I worked on the layouts and ideas, the more excited I became. I started imagining generic dreams but soon decided to make it about a girl's full night of dreams. That was the key.
“I looked for a beautiful girl to work with who was not too model-like but instead was very natural, sweet and happy to try various things with me. It's never a normal photoshoot with my productions as we improvise a lot and try and play.
“Working on an editorial on dreams of a grown-up was something new and challenging. The images had to be much more complex, sophisticated and art directed. It turned out to be so much fun and even whilst shooting, we had more ideas. For example, the shot when she is ‘shopping' or when she is ‘driving the car' were totally improvised during the shoot. That was quite a revelation for anyone on set.”
Jan sent us the full series so we can all see how this project turned out. Notice all the simple, everyday objects he incorporated. For instance, the collar and leash are made out of jeans and a dish, the birds are made out of hangers and the car's tires are made out of records. How wonderfully creative! Don't these photos remind you of that classic Oren Lavie music video, Her Morning Elegance?
