Espace Photographique Contretype
LES YEUX DANS LES YEUX............................................deutsch | english
Since the early 80's I have been engaged in the research of personal identities,
mainly by means of observation and situational photography. My work is connected
to the question of the individuality of a human being. My photography primarily
intends to translate an individual impulse on life into images. It explores the
relationship between the individual presenting his / her personality and the society
to which he / she presents it.
In my previous projects I have photographed people within their activities as viewed
from the perspective of an “ invisible witness “. Therefore it was my aim not to draw
any attention from the portrayed persons towards me and to avoid views into the
camera.
With LES YEUX DANS LES YEUX I concentrate on the communicative exchange of
views whithin the spontanous encounter with a single person with whom I am unfamiliar
until then. The mutual notice and the eye contact with the lens now become a fundamental
compositional basis of my visual conception. My experience in long term, situational
photography projects is now applied to more spontaneous, direct and brief encounters.
During the short moment of the photographing process I balance the different layers
of communikation, composition and the decision for the appropriate countenance.
While ambling along the streets I intuitively react on certain persons. I contact each
person and ask her or him for permission to photograph. This act causes a new
situation which confronts me with the challenge, of trying to arouse an atmosphere
that responds to the previously seen and intuitively perceived countenance of each
person. These portraits develop within the creative tension of my desire to convey
a primary spontaneously perceived emotion with a photograph and the necessity
but also the opportunity to create a new imagery by means of my artistic influence.
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