A French photographer and director staging the body in unidentifiable space-times.
Would you introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m a 22-year-old French photographer and director, currently based in Nantes. My visual universe is surrealistic, colourful and dark at the same time. In my pictures I love staging the body in unidentifiable space-times — I work with postures more than faces. Music strongly feeds my inspiration; the meeting of images and sounds really catches me, and that is why I work so much with musicians.
Are you studying? And why this profession?
I finished my cinema studies a year ago. I decided on this profession when I understood that being a photographer didn’t necessarily mean institutional work and weddings, which is absolutely fine and respectable, it’s just not me. I had a very powerful revelation after Xavier Dolan’s speech at Cannes in 2014: “Anything is possible to those who dream, dare and never give up.” That was the trigger that allowed me to be truly ambitious.
How do you see Paris as a place to start an artistic career?
For the time being my feeling about Paris is a bit complex. I moved there in September 2020 with a lot of desires and objectives, but our dear friend Covid prevented me from achieving them, which is why I came back to Nantes for now, where I already have my connections. I look forward to discovering Paris as it really is, when it isn’t entirely closed. It is the nerve centre of French artistic life and I see it as a necessary step in my career — but who knows.
You co-directed AvA’s last two music videos, REGARDE MOI and ORAGE. How was that?
Those experiences were absolutely amazing. Our co-directing duo works wonderfully. AvA is a very talented singer and director, and also an important collaborator and a friend who has made me grow as an artist. Together we’re working on many things: music videos, photos, short films, an audiovisual live show.
As a young artist, what are the hardest challenges?
I think our biggest challenges are believing in ourselves and finding a place in an environment where, if you are ambitious, the demands are harsh. As you say, the competition matters, and sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in a surplus of images, always comparing myself to other photographers’ talent. Most photographers of my generation are dealing with some form of inferiority complex or impostor syndrome, partly because of social media. That is why supporting each other is crucial.
Do photographers have to work harder today, with so much competition?
I don’t know whether we have to work harder. I think the world of photography changes from day to day, and the skills you need to get your break change with it. On the one hand the practice has become far more democratic, so the profession is much more within reach. On the other, the competition is tough — though fortunately it’s a virtuous circle, because communication works thanks to beautiful images.
Where does your inspiration come from, and is there a photographer you’d like us to interview?
Mostly from music videos, photographers, things I follow on social media, music. I also deeply love listening to people’s anecdotes and gazing at strangers in the street; that’s part of my inspiration too. At the moment Devonté Hynes’s music videos particularly move me, because they intertwine powerful, surrealistic images with subtly staged statements.
I’d like you to interview Anselme Servain. He’s one of my best friends and his visual universe is very poetic, personal and strong.
Pick one photograph and tell us what’s behind it.
“OBSESSION II” — He was everywhere with me without our even having seen each other anywhere. Was he someone, or something?
This image is part of my OBSESSION series, made around June 2020. I wanted to evoke virtual relationships. At the time I was constantly talking to a boy I had matched with on Tinder. We couldn’t meet because of the distance, but I became completely addicted to the flood of messages in our daily conversation. I found the mental process fascinating and irrational, so I wanted to bring it out through a series of self-portraits with saturated colours, in a digital atmosphere. I used blur and distortion to reflect that irrational hold.
What’s next?
The year has had its ups and downs, but September is full of good projects. My next music video, co-directed with AvA for her new song Summer Blue, comes out on 15 October. It tells a sweet, simple moment between two women in the sun.
