Have you a doppelgänger?

[Snowden]

A case of double exposure

Montreal photographer François Brunelle has turned a fascination with doppelgängers into a quest to find 200 sets of look-alikes that has taken him across the globe, writes Francine Kopun


Oct. 14, 2006. 01:00 AM
FRANCINE KOPUN

There is something compelling about the idea of a doppelgänger — your mirror image walking the world, doing good if you do evil, evil if you do good.

Montrealer François Brunelle has been fascinated by look-alikes all his life. Six years ago, he decided to turn his interest into a personal quest: Find and photograph 200 people with their doppelgänger.


Not that Brunelle buys the myth that if you are good your doppelgänger is evil — one of many doppelgänger myths. The relentlessly upbeat professional photographer quite simply loves people, in all their unvarnished ordinariness, without makeup, hairstylists or special effects.


He is fascinated, not so much by identical look-alikes, as by people who resemble each other in ways that make you wonder about genetics, genealogy and chance.

He began his project with people he knew, Nina-Rose Singh and Anna Rubin, a friend of one of Brunelle's daughters. From Hamilton and Toronto respectively, they were both pursuing careers as artists in Montreal.


They were introduced to each other for the first time at a bar in Montreal by Rubin's boyfriend.


"There was a sense of familiarity and wonder and humour, too," Rubin, 29, says of that first meeting. "Almost like mischief, you know, when life sends you those funny coincidences? I think within three seconds we were in some totally deep conversation."


They learned they were born on the same day of the same year, hours apart. They lived in the same building. Both are performing artists. They remain friends.


"I consider the world to be magical, so when things happen that are magical, I'm just like, `Ha-ha, you see?'" says Rubin, now studying in Seville, Spain.


Sarah Fournier, 23, of Toronto, thought it was cool to be paired in a photo with her look-alike, even if her look-alike was a man, 10 years her senior, who worked at the advertising agency where she was working.


"It was the most uncanny thing, seeing someone as tall as me, which never happens, and with as many freckles as me, which never happens, and as pale as me, which never happens," says Fournier, a six-foot-tall native of a hamlet called Waba in the Ottawa Valley. "There's six kids in my family, and I don't really look like anyone else in the family. I told my mother, `Aha, I was right, you did abduct me from somebody else.'"


There were other coincidences: When Brunelle put together a weatherman and his look-alike, the doppelgänger turned out to be something of an amateur meteorologist, keeping a daily weather log. Two women who had dated the same man at different times showed up to be photographed and the resemblance between them was striking.


Brunelle has travelled to Britain, France, Switzerland, Spain and Germany to find look-alikes, sending press releases to the media there and hoping for stories, which inevitably turn up new doppelgängers. He made a cold call to Rowan Atkinson's office — in his younger days Brunelle was often told he resembled Mr. Bean, the character made famous by Atkinson — and nearly got thrown out. The media-shy actor allegedly liked the project, but declined to participate.


Brunelle has shot 140 portraits so far. He hopes his quest will result in a book. If it doesn't, he's enjoying the ride.


"This is a crazy idea," says the 56-year-old father of six.


"I just went for my own thing. If nobody likes my pictures then that's fine, at least I'll be happy."

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[BrianK]

I've always suspected I had a double, especially when I looked in a mirror.

I'd let this guy know except that I don't think him photographing my mirror image is what he has in mind.

[Woodmonkey]

I do have one. I found out about her back in high school days in France. The student council at our high school went to a big meeting of councils in Germany and they came back with tales of my double. They even brought a picture. They said that she looked, walked, talked and dressed like I did. The pic sure did look like me, but I lost it over the years.

[conlor]

Two people have told me I look like a woman named Margaret who works at the Catholic cemetary. One was the priest who comes into the VA where I work. The other was a man, a stranger, in a restaurant. His wife agreed with him. I meant to check to see if we really do look alike.

[Snowden]

Six kids. So he has other hobbies besides taking pictures..

I don't know if I have a doppelgänger or not. Probably not.

[milmor_1]

If my wife found out there was a second one of me she would flip, she always says one husband like me is more than enough for any woman. She is so complimentary

[Woodmonkey]

She doesn't like double trouble, huh?