For many years, photographer and filmmaker Joannie Lafrenière has been traveling the world for her creative projects. But she never travels alone: her suitcase is filled with costumes and accessories which come alive whenever she finds the right setting to use them.

With her pronounced taste for kitsch and humor, she is always ready to create baroque self-portraits in outfits that perfectly match the surrounding architecture and landscape. Passionate about pastime aesthetics, she takes the viewer on a trip in a time machine made of unique, colorful tableaux, where elegance meets nostalgia.

Joannie’s latest film took her to Florida. As she documented the daily life of snowbirds, a community of elderly French Canadians who spend their winters in a mobile home park, she became friends with one of her protagonists, Yvette. This seemingly ageless 84-year-old woman immediately won her heart with her candid personality and sense of humor.

In between two shots for the film and for the sake of a good laugh, Joannie invited her new partner in crime to create dual self-portraits. Yvette immediately fell in love with this rejuvenating game. Using extravagant costumes and staged compositions to abolish the fifty year gap between them, Joannie and Yvette became the Hallandale Twins. Together, they created Playtime, a playful photo series that travels through time, age, and imagination.