People who live to be 100 years or older are called centenarians. Cool nickname, right?
But with this nickname comes scrutiny. Many of us want to know how to live forever, and centenarians are believed to be “holding” the key to aging.
But they also hold something else: decades of human experience. At their core, however, they are unchanged by the passing of time.
Age is just a number, right?
Czech photographer Jan Langer’s set to demonstrate this through her portrait series titled, “Faces of Century“. In the skillfully done series, Jan takes the subject of his portrait and places them side-by-side to a portrait of their younger selves. The photographer aimed to recreate the original pose and lighting as close as he can, to demonstrate how his subjects have and have not changed over time.
That is the key to the Jan’s series.
It what seems both short in the length of human history but long in the length of one human’s history, Jan captures the rare faces of people who have lived through wars (including two world wars), the exponential advancement of technology, and different leadership regimes.
The stories of the individuals below are remarkable and inspiring. They go to show that no matter how much time passes, we all inherently remain the same person we have always been.
1. Anna Pochobradská, age 30 vs 100
Anna Pochobradská was a farmer. Now, she lives a quiet, simple life. She enjoys the little things like her daughter’s weekly weekend visits, which she is very thankful for.
2. Bedřiška Köhlerová, age 26 vs 103
Bedřiška was originally born in Merano, Italy. As time continues to pass, she hopes to visit Italy one more time.
3. Anna Vašinová, age 22 vs 102
Anna suffered a tragedy in her life. She will always remember the painful day her husband was taken away by the Nazis. She dreams to reunite with him after death.
4. Antonín Baldrman, age 17 vs 101
In his early life, Antonín was a clerk. Now, he enjoys keeping up with current events by reading the newspaper. No iPad for him, he prefers a classic paper to hold.
5. Antonín Kovář, age 25 vs 102
Antonín Kovář is a former musician. His daughter visits him every day. He wishes to play the clarinet again someday.
6. Ludmila Vysloužilová, age 23 vs 101
Ludmila shows that age is just a number. She lives a very active lifestyle by chopping wood every day, shoveling snow, and doing work around her house. Who says you have to slow down just because you’re getting older?
7. Ludvík Chybík, age 20 vs 102
Ludvík was a former postal carrier. He told Jan he will never forget the route he worked every day.
8. Marie Burešová, age 23 vs 101
Marie spends her days talking to her family. She loves them and speaking with them makes her day. She hopes to have them all reunited again.
9. Marie Fejfarová, age 101
Marie doesn’t have a “younger” portrait because burned all her material memories, including old photographs, when she chose to move to a long-term care facility. She lived a dramatic life, hiding from the Nazis and then the Russians. However, her life also had positive moments, such as when she traveled the world with her husband.
It’s never too late in life to start a new chapter.
10. Prokop Vejdělek, age 22 vs 101
Prokop is a former metallurgical engineer. One thing he’ll never forget? The taste of warm fresh goat’s milk.
11. Stanislav Spáčil, age 17 vs 102
Stanislav was an electrical engineer throughout his life. He thinks that it’s too early in his life to think about the past. I love that positive attitude!
12. Vincenc Jetelina, age 30 vs 105
Vincenc spent eight years in prison after World War II. After that ordeal, he simply wants to live the rest of his life in peace. He certainly deserves it.
13. Vlasta Čížková, age 23 vs 101
Vlasta cooked in the dining room at the airport in the small village of Vodochody. One thing she’ll never forget: reciting her own poetry at wedding ceremonies. I bet her poems were beautiful.
Jan decided to document the lives of the elderly because he noticed a lack of media coverage on them. He chose centenarians based on their rare demographic.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, only 53,364 centenarians remain, which is only 0.19% of the population of people 70 years or older.
Jan says the experience of shooting centenarians taught him a valuable lesson.
“One should live every single moment according to their best knowledge and conscience because one day we will see clearly what has a real value,” he said.
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