‘nouvelle ère’… the name of roxane petitier‘s collection of historically inspired images is no ordinary before- and- after series. her subjects are realistic versions of iconic figures from renaissance portraits combined with enigmatic contemporary photographs of the same subject. these portraits communicate the importance of visual representation in such a clever context of time or era. more than just juxtaposing past and present, she alludes to the power of iconography and how values and compositions can alter perceptions. the peaceful classical postures are opposed by a more dynamic visual of the same. in creating this dialogue between the contemporarily familiar and historically established version, petitier investigates not only perceptions of status and social value, but also the way in which we look at images of ourselves. the portraits are from different walks of life; princess slave, musician, queen of the south, consul and artist. through her animation of the characters our vision of them in their modernised state is strangely equalised, liberated even. the languid or intensely engaging gaze from the characters is substituted with their unconcerned likeness. by omitting the context, each of these images retain a strength in their own right, but to me their hidden power is much more evident when read together, this intentional subtext to her work is also reflected in her other series: ‘mouvements anthropomorphiques’ which consists of a collection of nude studies and paleontological remains compositionally connected through similarities in shape; creating a beautifully enigmatic conversation about our origins and existence.