Quentins Cabinet

Based in Berlin, QuentinsCabinet re-visualizes male images from Historical, Contemporary and Fictional origins which are bound together by two primary design elements of format and color.

The Process: Mixed media portraits are all torn into 16 equal pieces and reassembled.

From the history of photography,16 is a reference to 16mm film that was introduced in1923; but came into commercial popularity much later with the news documentation of the destruction of Berlin during WW2. 16mm became the industry standard for analog video before it was eventually replaced with contemporary digital images and video.

The backgrounds of the portrait images are painted out to remove any context and give emphasis directly to the subject. This blue background also has a technical reference.
Contemporary digital imaging technology uses “Green Screen” while earlier Analog photographic techniques used “Blue Screen” backgrounds.
The specific blue used in the artworks of QuentinsCabinet was specifically chosen for its connection to Berlin.
The historical reference to the blue: This particular color is very significant because it was formulated in Berlin in 1708 by Johann Jacob Diesbach. It was first referred to as “Prussian Blue” for the Kingdom of Prussia and soon after called “Berlin Blue” after the city of its origin.

These design conponents for Quentins Cabinet were strongly influenced by Berlin’s history and together they create the visual foundation for the works.

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