A Dutch graphic designer is spending his free time creating pictures of celebrities posing with their younger selves, and the results are incredible.
Social media has been packed to the brim with throwback photos recently, as people share how they looked at the beginning of the decade versus how they look now we’re nearing the end – but artist Ard Gelinck has been ahead of the game for some time.
The graphic designer has a whole Instagram page dedicated to his creations, which show A-listers such as Keanu Reeves, Kim Kardashian and the Friends cast posing alongside younger versions of themselves. Gelinck uses Photoshop to create the images, which are perfectly edited to make the comparisons appear flawless.
Luckily for Gelinck, celebrities have much of their life documented through photographs, meaning the artist can compare fresh-faced and innocent stars with the wise old-timers they’ve grown in to.
The following image series, for example, shows a Growing Pains-era Leonardo DiCaprio embracing his Oscar-winning, environment-saving current self.
Check it out here:
Gelinck spoke to UNILAD about his hobby, explaining he has been posting photos online for about 10 years, though he has been creative since he was a child.
He commented:
I often challenge myself to create a certain series of images, including the ‘then and now’ series that you see a lot now.
The ideas come up and the celebrities that I choose are often random.
The Dutch artist also pays tribute to celebrities who are no longer around, for example the beloved Robin Williams.
See the comparison below:
Some of Gelinck’s other subjects include Eminem, P!nk, Jim Carrey, Tom Selleck, Lady Gaga, Luke Perry and David Bowie.
Take a look below:
The graphic designer has received a lot of attention for his creations, and many of his celebrity subjects have even shared his creations on their on social media pages. As a result, his Instagram page now boasts an impressive 196,000 followers.
Speaking of his success, Gelinck said:
I was pleasantly surprised when it was picked up by various media worldwide. [It’s] nice to see that you can entertain people and show something that makes them think and laugh.
As well as creating comparisons between stars and their younger selves, the artist also merges photos of celebrities with alternative versions of themselves, for example personas they adopt or characters they’ve played in films.
Examples include Tom Hanks and Forrest Gump, Heath Ledger and his Joker, Neil Patrick Harris and Doogie Howser, Joaquin Phoenix and his version of Joker, and Mark Hamill and Luke Skywalker.
See them here:
The artist told UNILAD some of the creations he is most proud of include David Bowie and Lady Gaga, though he added there were ‘too many’ to choose from, which is understandable; the photos are certainly breathtaking.
Hopefully Gelinck will keep the creations coming!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.