Photographer Frieke Janssens turns actors into busts for Belgian theatre company

There’s few things actors love more than having their photographs taken but Frieke Janssens did something very different to the traiditional headshot when she was commissioned by Belgium theatre company Toneelhuis. Inspired by the dramatic lighting and overwrought poses of Hollywood’s golden age, Frieke created each picture as a bust of the theatre group member putting the focus firmly on their features.

She then placed the images in a space that resembles the attic of the group’s base – the 19th century Bourla theatre in Antwerp – which adds an interesting new element to the series, that of the performers being props ready to be dusted off for each new play.