The graphic designer said he's always trying to challenge himself when it comes to Photoshop. "The 'Then and Now' series is quite old when you consider that me and my brother made the first image for it about 10 years ago," Gelinck told Bored Panda. "About 5 years ago, I edited pictures for a lot of Dutch celebrities and it was a success, so I then started working with foreign celebrity photos. The first one was Madonna, and she even posted my image on her own Instagram."
The Queen of Pop, however, isn't the only Gelinck subject who has publicly admired his work. Rob Lowe, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, Annie Lennox, BeeGees, Jason Priestly, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Carice van Houten, Sylvester Stallone, Robbie Williams, Michael Douglas, Ricky Gervais, and many more have also given him a shoutout. "When I think about it, the list is quite impressive," Gelinck said.
When the Photoshop wizard is composing the pictures, he's often trying to make the subject and their former self embrace one another, be it an arm on the shoulder on a hug. "[The actual pose] depends on a lot of things. I'm trying to find one where they're standing next to each other."
The graphic designer thinks that his project has become so popular because people enjoy taking a trip down memory lane and remember the celebrities when they were young. Each of Gelinck's images is like a shot of nostalgia that brings back past moments of enjoying music chart hits, TV shows, and movies.
