ALEXIS PICHOT'S tidal oscillations
French photographer Alexis Pichot creates his works at night where light and spaces are his sources of inspiration. In this interview, he discusses his recent series Insula, which presents haunting and starkly beautiful imagery of rocky coastlines and small islands partly illuminated by a full moon.
Interview by Isabel Hou
You’ve written that “the insula, the birthplace of our emotions...emerged from within me when I faced my fear of rising tides when I shouted my joy at the moon when I thundered my anger at the rain or welcomed my surprise when faced with impermanence.”
What was the impetus for you to begin facing these fears and embracing these primal expressions? How do you believe these intense emotions are directly depicted in this series?
Since I started photography, I have felt my creativity in full swing with all the emotions that come with it. I am not someone who shows my emotions easily and this series, Insula, allows me to anchor my will to connect more intimately to them and feel comfortable expressing what I feel.
Each image represents specific memories of what I experienced in it, it is indeed very personal, but I think that each person who takes the time to connect to an image can feel what emerges within them, which is unique to each person.
You say that during the creation of this series, “I lived by the water or was surrounded by water for three years.” Where were most of these images shot, and how do these scenes of rising tides, large, jagged rocks, and the deep roiling sea contribute to the narrative you wish to impart with Insula?
It all started in Normandy where I was lucky enough to live 5-minute walk from the sea. I walked the beach many times at different times of the day and night. Each time I passed by these rocks, I felt attracted, I observed them, and I liked to see how their faces were transformed according to the level of the tide. The sea, which is composed of water, symbolizes emotions and I believe in the cellular memory of water. So seeing the tides fluctuate on the rocks offered me this image of the emotions that oscillate in me.
I am fascinated by the use of light and space in your work, particularly with Insula. What was the process that went into the shoot in terms of time, energy, and setup?
The creation of this series was spread over a year, with periods of three nights of shooting around the cycle of the full moon. After having made good use of the beaches near my home, I took my van and drove down the coast of Normandy and then down the coast of northern Brittany. Concerning the shooting process, almost all the series is made on the same basis: 5 minutes of exposure time during which I light the rocks, the waves, and their foam.
Regarding the notion of energy, I am always amazed to feel that neither fatigue nor cold are felt as long as I am creative. But when I run out of ideas...it's over, I dream of getting under the comforter!
You’ve written that “I feel...emotional oscillations more deeply when shooting long-time exposure.” Is this a new sentiment, or one that you have carried with you throughout your other work?
Yes, it is a feeling that has been present since the beginning. The long exposure time asks me to slow down, to look around, to feel. However, in Insula, the sound of the waves, their crashes and the rising tide regularly disturbed this state. I had to be attentive and ready to react if a wave suddenly came crashing in where I was placed.
The rising tide is also dangerous, I tried as often as possible to be close to the water, which can require going quite far at low tide. I found myself on large rocky outcrops and the time to take my shots, the rising tide could cover with water a rocky part behind me and cut me off from the coast. It happened to me twice to have to come back at full speed and to cross the submerged part while carrying my bags above my head...I was not taking much with me and without forgetting that I was completely wet.
In contrast to your other series, Insula does not necessarily depict bright, striking beams of light; rather, the light is subtle, almost brimming beneath the surface of the photos. Could you discuss your intention behind this?
For Insula, I wanted a more suggestive light intervention that can be seen and not seen at the same time. I want the viewer to feel a sense of unreality that draws attention and questions what they are seeing. It is also for this reason that I photograph under the full moon, to mix the light beams and create a unique atmosphere between real and unreal.
What inspiration have you taken from your previous work as well as your French heritage in the creation of this series?
It's not an obvious question...but I think there is a constant desire to connect with nature, to live close to it, to look at it and to imagine how I can interpret it. For the French heritage, there is certainly this search for the aesthetic and the contemplative which are present in my images, but I agree that it is a subjective point of view.
You have exhibited extensively and created several large-scale projects. How do you feel you have evolved, as an artist as well as a person, over the course of your career from your first project up until now?
I feel that I am going deeper into my subjects and that there is more and more consistency in my images. I see how the artist side comes to the service of my person to express my creativity and my emotions. The personal work on myself allows me to assume who I am and to affirm the artist in me. These two entities feed each other.
View more of Alexis’s work on his site and Instagram
Read our 2019 interview with Alexis by Megan Farrell
Isabel Hou is a student and artist interested in writing, advocacy, and law. She is based out of Pennsylvania and is currently living in Colorado.
