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Two side-by-side photos of a person in a green v-neck sweater and checked shirt. In the first, they hold a sleeping baby wrapped in a white blanket. In the second, they sit beside a bearded person who is lying in bed with their eyes closed.

Photography: The Luxton brothers recreate their childhood pictures with terrific results

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Date
21 January 2014

When designer Joe Luxton of Build sent through his new blog, he suggested it was something we “may enjoy.” As he explained: “Basically we made a calendar for our mum for her Christmas present of photos of us recreating old photographs that we found of ourselves." Well Joe, it turns out you know our predilections like the back of your hand. As happens quite often we’ve seen the basic idea before, but there’s something about the execution – the care and attention to detail – which lifts this well above similar projects. The range from the cute to the ever so slightly disturbing (looking at you adult bath picture) and I’m a particular fan of the ones where they get their dad involved in the fun. We just hope Mama Luxton was as smitten with them as we are.

A diptych of two photographs. The top image shows two young children laughing together in a bathtub. The bottom image shows two bearded people in the same pose and setting.
Above

The Luxton Brothers: Then/Now

Two side-by-side photographs show a person teaching a child to ride a bicycle. In the first, a person in a blue shirt supports a young child on a white bike. In the second, the same pair are older, recreating the pose on a red bicycle.
Above

The Luxton Brothers: Then/Now

Two photographs stacked vertically. The top shows a child wearing a blue bow headband and a blue high-neck top, looking off-camera. The bottom shows a bearded person in the same pose, wearing the same headband and top.
Above

The Luxton Brothers: Then/Now

Two side-by-side photos show people posing in a brick doorway. In the first, two children stand with arms outstretched; the child in front wears a T-shirt that reads “red nose day”. In the second, two people mirror the same pose, with the person in front wearing the same “red nose day” T-shirt.
Above

The Luxton Brothers: Then/Now

A side-by-side comparison shows a baby on the left and a bearded person on the right. Both wear yellow striped shirts and lean forward with similar wide-eyed, surprised expressions.
Above

The Luxton Brothers: Then/Now

A diptych of two photographs. The top image shows a child leaning in to kiss a swaddled newborn baby. The bottom image mirrors the pose, with one bearded person leaning in to kiss another bearded person.
Above

The Luxton Brothers: Then/Now

Two side-by-side photographs show a person holding a wrapped figure in a similar pose. In the first, a person with dark hair holds a swaddled baby. In the second, an older version of the person holds a swaddled adult.
Above

The Luxton Brothers: Then/Now

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

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Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

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