With props from Charlie Chaplin films, Helin Bereket's self-portrait photos transcend time

‘Amaranthine’, meaning everlasting, is the new series of self-portraits by Nikon photographer Helin Bereket, which was inspired by Nikon’s latest campaign ‘Standing the Test of Time’. Last year, Nikon tasked photographers across Europe to showcase their understanding of an image that would stand the test of time, using its new mirrorless camera, the Nikon Z f .

With props from Charlie Chaplin’s 1915 Tramp silent film, make-up and swimming costumes from the early 1920s and 1950s and a 1960s brutalist architecture backdrop, Bereket photographed herself as an actor who embodies different styles and eras. She plays all roles of the story, which is polychronic, dissonant and multilayered.

Striking different poses, Bereket blends the aesthetics of classical sculpture, grand manner portraiture, silent film, slapstick, traditional Japanese arts and contemporary fashion photography. At times, the actress is gracious and monumental, at others contemplative, calm and peaceful. Sometimes she even teases the viewer. But, ultimately, it’s clear that she is a serious entertainer.

Staged in a monochromatic image taken on the Nikon Z f camera, her images transpose us to a bygone era, yet nothing is ‘old’ in them. As her audience, we recognise the modern architecture and the cutting-edge photo technology deployed and so we begin to believe that we might encounter the subject in the image today. While her clothes and demeanour look timeless, they could equally be thoroughly modern.

Bereket recycles not the past but the present, our current urban space, style techniques and technology, creating a confusing structure of time, which is open to infinite interpretations. By employing elements from the past to confuse and intrigue viewers as to when the images were taken, Bereket’s self-portraits challenge the audience to see beyond the surface.

Tech details

Camera: Nikon Z f
Lens: NIKKOR Z 24–70 mm f/2.8 S

This article originally appeared in Digital Photographer , a monthly magazine, and the kitbag essential for pros, enthusiasts and amateurs alike!

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