Dan Oara – Common bonds

Dan Oara – Common bonds

By Kaymir Stark

This is actually the second time that we’re featuring the works of Romanian photographer Dan Oara on CFYE. Unfortunately his picture in Crack-Mag #002 was cancelled due to some (resolved) issues. To my great surprise I received last month a good spirited email from Dan presenting us his new work.

Photography portraits by Dan Oara
Photography portraits by Dan Oara

Oara was born in Timisoara, Romania, where he studied industrial design. A few years later he moved to the capital, Bucharest to study cinematography. After a few years he left the mainland and called London his new home. This is the place where he currently lives, works and studies photography.

Photography portraits by Dan Oara
Photography portraits by Dan Oara

One of the many defining features of Oara’s photography work, the one that probably stands out the most, is his use of exclusively female characters. Oara is obsessed with femininity in all its forms, and the relationships born between two women. The relationships are common bonds, made unusual through the lens. His characters take on the roles of mothers and daughters, sisters, lovers, and Oara uses the camera to bring the audience deep into these connections.

Photography portraits by Dan Oara
Photography portraits by Dan Oara
Photography portraits by Dan Oara
Photography portraits by Dan Oara

“I consider it essential that most of the girls I deal with have never worked as models professionally. I even prefer someone a little camera shy and awkward to the body language of a professional fashion model.”

Photography portraits by Dan Oara
Photography portraits by Dan Oara

There is a complex affair between the photographer, the women and the viewer, where the viewer is given an insight into not only the bond between the two characters but also into Oara’s relationship with himself. Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of his work is the cinematic feel to his photographs. The images follow the compositional logic of film – often the eye is drawn across the entire image as opposed to focusing on the centre.

Photography portraits by Dan Oara
Photography portraits by Dan Oara
Photography portraits by Dan Oara
Photography portraits by Dan Oara