Jan Von Holleben In-depth Analysis

This image was created by Jan Von Holleben, a man who was born in 1997, Cologne and spent her childhood in the southern German countryside and is currently a cinematographer and child therapist. When he was 13 years old, he went in his father's career in photography and begun experimentation with 'magical tricks'. After teaching children with disabilities at a school in Freiburg, he moved to London and achieved a degree in the Theory and History of Photography at Surrey Institute of Art and Design and became well known in the photographic scene within London. Throughout his recognition in London, he worked as an art and photographic director as well as a picture editor.

In a previous interview Jan Von Holleben spoke about what he most likes about photography, and said that he likes the fact that he has 'total freedom to switch between vision and reality or to combine both to whatever levels'. He also mentioned that 'people are so dramatically receptive to photography' which links to the photo above of a boy laying on the floor holding balloons pretending to fly in the sky. I believe that the phrase and the photo relate because the model in the picture is clearly being 'receptive' to the idea presented by Jan; the way he is lying down is quite dramatic and makes it seem as if the balloons are pulling him across the sky (which is actually the floor) which is what I believe was Jan's intentions for the image.

I think that Jan Von Holleben has carefully thought about the aesthetics of the image as all of the colours blend together well; he has focused on using red/orange/brown/cream and yellow mostly. This is my favourite picture from his collection of 'Dreams of Flying' because the positioning of the model and the balloons makes it very effective.

Meaning:

In an interview Jan Von Holleben said: 

'One has to take into consideration that I am a critical child of my own generation.
I saw bits of the 80s, the 90s and the change of the century. Visual culture has done ANYTHING possible within those years. Everything has been retro-ed or emerged from its own potential. Digital photography got invented and created full democracy amongst the medium. For myself and my photography, I try not to fall into any styles or trendy features. I am a purist and probably rather a visual communicator or illustrator than a professional photographer in the common sense.
Most of the work I do is based on text or theory which I translate into images. I try to use a neutral and timeless style and my grammar is based on a fun and easy approach to the subject matter.

My procedure would be:
Fully understanding the subject matter (research), then walking with the idea for some days, starting with some sketches on paper (for myself as memory of ideas but also to explain my team and possible models how my idea works), starting production (which can be a 10 minute shoot in the studio or a two week project or split into various individual shoots depending on project) I am extremely pragmatic about my time and efforts. No fuzz and most of the times my team and I look like some funny immature photo-students when doing projects (which gives us usually access to all areas as I am hardly ever taken serious by outsiders)

Question: Hidden meanings? Are there any?
If at all: Life is factual very easy and photography is a piece of cake (if you take it serious)!
The best feedback I get from people on a regular basis is, that I make them very happy. Maybe that is a hidden meaning? Maybe that I truly enjoy what I do as a job and see no boundaries. Photography has not many boundaries.

I can work on a book with Steidl one day, can shoot advertising the next, work with various magazines and make a fine art exhibition at the same time. All in one week. Freedom.
I can switch between studio, outside location, business center and shopping mall or black and white, snap shot style or colourful pseudo lifestyle photography. More freedom.'