Renaissance: Dead or Alive (A)

Renaissance: Dead or Alive (2025)

Bran’s photographic diptych, Renaissance: Dead or Alive, captures a poignant exploration of life, beauty, and decay juxtaposed against man-made instruments of destruction. The series begins with a staged still life featuring opulent coral-pink peonies, freshly picked from Bran’s own garden. Arranged in his kitchen, the flowers are surrounded by striking and unsettling objects: real brass AK-47 7.62mm rounds, a pineapple grenade, and a gleaming gold AK-47 taking centre stage. The scene’s dramatic interplay of organic beauty and cold, destructive tools evokes a surreal, painterly quality that Bran immortalized in the first photograph.

A week later, Bran revisited the composition, time had transformed the tableau. The once-vibrant peonies had wilted; their petals had fallen delicately over the gold AK-47, creating a haunting visual metaphor. The man-made objects—untouched by time—remained resolute, contrasting starkly with the fragile, fleeting nature of life embodied by the flowers. Captivated by this organic evolution, Bran captured the "after" image, which adds a profound layer to the narrative of his work.

Drawing on his photographic expertise, Bran skillfully portrays the staged theatre of life and death. The juxtaposition of living elements decaying amidst weapons of destruction creates a visual dialogue on permanence and impermanence, nature and human interference. The two photographs, displayed together, invite viewers to reflect on the tension between beauty and violence, vitality and mortality.

Renaissance: Dead or Alive is a thought-provoking exploration of contrasts, capturing the ephemeral nature of organic life against the enduring presence of man-made symbols of power. Bran’s work compels us to question what remains when life fades and whether beauty can persist in the face of destruction.