"Trial Bay" Photograph

Cătălin Anastase hails from a family of Romanian Performing Arts and Visual artists tracing their roots back to medieval Transylvania since 1660 and Dobruja. Having been immersed in thrilling adventure books by renowned authors like Jules Verne, Mark Twain, and Rudyard Kipling during his formative years, Cătălin developed a spirit of adventure and an insatiable curiosity for exploring places, meeting people, and a fondness for mystery. Interestingly, in his childhood, his grandparents affectionately nicknamed him “kangaroo” due to his exceptional jumping and running abilities, making his eventual journey to Australia seem like a natural course. The dream of his artist father, who sought to escape the oppressive Romanian communist regime in 1953, found continuation through Cătălin in the Southern Hemisphere. He brought with him the family legacy and his artistic pursuits, showcasing them in various exhibitions. Cătălin’s journey into photography began in November 1987, focusing on black and white portraiture and light painting photography, which he adapted romantically to the world of portraiture. Driven by allegory and metaphors, his portraits are imbued with a romantic illumination, following the renowned chiaroscuro painting technique. With the intention of crafting a narrative alongside the subject before his camera, Cătălin embarked on this creative endeavor with a single question in mind: “What’s the story?” Through the illuminating technique he discovered, Cătălin can unveil a story from an entirely different perspective, shedding light on the darkness and capturing it as a photographic image. Cătălin’s dramatic interpretation within this style was influenced by his background in performing arts, having worked as an actor, puppeteer, and director. In 1992, he was recognized by the British Journal Of Photography and featured in its prestigious magazine. In 1995, he was invited as an avant-garde photographer to the International Festival for Photography in Burghausen, Germany, where he experimented with and exhibited his portrait studies and body light-painted images alongside fellow professional photographers, photography enthusiasts, and representatives of renowned camera brands such as Canon, Nikon, Fuji, and Minolta. This experience marked the beginning of a long journey in Cătălin’s photography career, and his style enabled him to foster a deeper connection with the people he photographed, instilling in them a sense of confidence.