Magritte’s dreamland

On the occasion of the René Magritte exhibition, the SCHIRN invites international Instagrammers to get inspired by Magritte and his surreal worlds. The series continues with the Instagram duo @drcuerda and @anniset. Every one of their humorous images, that work with perspective and geometry, tells a story.

What do you want to tell us with your images?

Coming up with a concept for this series has been a truly exciting experience. We wanted to explore Magritte’s universe while finding our own path, instead of copying his very own particular world; which would be impossible without a brush or a ton of hours in Photoshop!

We decided to transform his surreal paintings into almost-real life photographies. “What would he do if he couldn’t paint and had to use a camera to express himself instead?”, that was the whole idea. For each picture we focused in one single key element of his work: umbrellas, apples, well-dressed men… .We’ve even had to create clouds with our hands! We’ve tried to bring his impossible dreams into the real world using perspective, simplicity and a little bit of fun.   

What inspires your images?

We think Magritte’s dreamland has always been a source of inspiration for ourselves. Not only because of his enigmatic message and almost explicit sense of humor, but also because of the style and technique of his work. We believe there’s a minimalistic approach in his work: an effort to describe this alternative reality with the least amount of elements… .And that it’s definitely a leitmotiv that we can relate ourselves to. 

For you, what is so topical about René Magritte's work?

Some people may just recognize his work because of the iconic elements portrayed in his paintings, others might find appealing the hidden beauty within the complex simplicity of his storytelling… . But, for us, Magritte will always be the only artist who is capable of telling a solid story while making zero sense.