Jan van Holleben : Dreams of flying

Born in 1977 in Cologne and brought up in the southern German countryside, Jan von Holleben lived most of his youth in an alternative commune and identifies a strong connection between the development of his photographic work and the influence of his parents, a cinematographer and child therapist. After pursuing studies in teaching children with disabilities, he moved to London, earned a degree in the Theory and History of Photography at Surrey Institute of Art and Design, and became submerged within the London photographic scene, where he worked as picture editor, art director and photographic director.

His body of photographic work focusing on the ‘homo ludens’ – the man who learns through play, is itself built from a playful integration of pedagogical theory with his own personal experiences of play and memories of childhood. Jan von Holleben’s work has been exhibited internationally and published widely throughout the world. View more of his work here.

His series entitled “Dreams of Flying” draws inspiration from classic childhood books, as well as modern superheroes. It was produced with children from his local neighbourhood, up from a ladder in Southwest Germany, and has been an ongoing project since 2002 that focuses on the representation of childhood, childish memories and concepts of playing. His particular project work was divided in two sections : "dreams of flying" (2002-08) and "dreams of flying, revisited" (2006-11).