My artistic approach is rooted in reality, yet it does not seek to reproduce it.
A landscape, a tree, a building, a sky, a flower or, at times, an almost insignificant detail catches my eye. A light, a shape, a colour or a composition holds my attention. Photography then becomes the starting point for a process of transformation. The ‘Cities and Architecture’ gallery, in particular, allows viewers to follow the transformation of urban lines and perspectives.
Transforming reality to see things differently
With my Imaginary Planets, I seek to shift our points of reference. To bring forth, from what already exists, a different world. A world that preserves the memory of reality whilst opening the door to the imagination.
Some of my works remain figurative. Others gradually move away from their origins until they border on abstraction. It is precisely this intermediate space that interests me: the space where one recognises something without always being able to say immediately what one is looking at. My selection of abstract art photographs invites you to explore this boundary between recognisable subjects and forms open to interpretation.
My artistic intention
Through my work, I seek first and foremost to surprise and delight.
Transforming a landscape, a tree, a piece of architecture or a fragment of everyday life can sometimes reveal what habit prevents us from seeing. The familiar becomes strange. A familiar place is transformed into an imaginary realm. A photograph can then open up a space where everyone constructs their own interpretation.
I also like the idea that my images might challenge the viewer’s perspective.
What do we actually see? Where does photography end and transformation begin? Are we still looking at a landscape, or are we already faced with an abstraction?
This hesitation interests me. It invites us not merely to recognise an image, but to take the time to explore it.
Beauty as an intention
I also advocate a place for beauty, poetry and lightness.
In a world saturated with images, often characterised by a sense of urgency and unease, I like the idea that my creations might offer a moment’s respite. That they might evoke a sense of wonder, an emotion, a smile or simply the pleasure of looking.
This quest for beauty excludes neither questioning nor strangeness. On the contrary, it is one of the paths I take to shift our perception of reality.
Creating an Imaginary Planet ultimately means taking what already exists as a starting point and attempting to bring something unexpected to life: a world that is both familiar and impossible, capable of surprising, challenging and, perhaps, inspiring wonder.
Reality as the starting point for my artistic approach
Even when the final image appears unreal or almost abstract, its origins remain photographic.
I always begin with a photograph. Behind each piece, there is a place I have encountered, a particular light, a season, a moment or, sometimes, simply a detail that caught my eye.
This connection with reality is important to me.
He gives each Planet a story, even when this is no longer immediately apparent in the final image.
However, I do not always take photographs with a precise idea of the result in mind. Sometimes I recognise the potential of a scene immediately. But some photographs may remain in my archives for a long time before revealing the possibility of transformation.
An image captured almost by chance can, several months later, become the starting point for a new creation.
Transforming rather than reproducing
Once the photograph has been captured, another stage begins.
The image gradually becomes a medium for creation.
I transform perspectives. I curve lines. I bring certain elements closer together or push them further apart. I explore the rhythms, colours, balances and tensions that emerge during the creative process.
I am not simply seeking to apply a technique.
Each photograph reacts differently to transformation. Some approaches work, others do not. One must try, go back, start again, and sometimes abandon one avenue to discover another.
Gradually, the original image ceases to be merely descriptive.
A landscape is no longer merely a landscape. A building can become a form. A tree can be transformed into a graphic structure. A sky can become matter.
It is at this moment that photography, for me, begins to open up another space.
The circle as a photographic language
The circular form naturally occupies a central place in my work.
Originally, it was linked to panoramic photography and the transformations that gave rise to my first Imaginary Planets.
Yet, over the years, the circle has become far more than a mere technique;
it has evolved into a visual language.
The circle disrupts our usual way of looking at a landscape. The horizon disappears or folds in on itself. Up and down become relative. The gaze is drawn towards a centre, then moves outwards again.
This form may evoke a planet, but also an eye, a cell, an orbit, an organism or simply an autonomous space.
I am not seeking to impose an interpretation.
On the contrary, I prefer to leave this form open to the viewer’s imagination.
Each planet thus creates its own balance, its own space and sometimes even its own laws.
Between figuration and abstraction
This boundary between reality and abstraction has gradually become one of the most stimulating areas of my research.
Some works still allow one to immediately identify their origin. A tree, a mountain, a town or a building remains visible.
In other images, the original subject recedes still further into the background.
The lines, textures, colours and rhythms then take centre stage. The image begins to exist independently of the place that gave rise to it.
One question keeps recurring in my work: how far can I transform reality without completely erasing its memory?
I have no desire to provide a definitive answer to this.
It is precisely this tension that interests me: the moment when the eye thinks it recognises something, then has its doubts; when the photograph seems to veer towards abstraction whilst retaining a trace of what was there.
Chance and Experimentation
My practice also leaves ample room for chance.
I may begin a piece with a very specific idea and, as I work, discover a form or composition that I had not anticipated at all.
I am drawn to these visual accidents. Sometimes they prompt me to abandon my original concept and follow where the image leads.
Some pieces emerge swiftly. Others demand many attempts. Sometimes a work may lie unfinished for weeks or even months before I feel the urge to return to it.
I regard these hesitations, these attempts and these detours as an integral part of the creative process.
The final image is therefore not always the realisation of a pre-existing idea.
It often emerges from a dialogue between what I imagine and what I discover while working.
A practice in motion
The Imaginary Planets remain at the heart of my universe, yet I have never wished to turn them into a fixed formula.
Over time, this exploration has led me towards black and white, towards increasingly abstract images, towards the Crystalline Planets, but also towards relief and augmented reality.
These explorations all stem from the same desire: to continue to examine the transformation of the image and the way it occupies space.
With its three-dimensional quality, the work partly moves beyond the realm of photography to take on a physical presence.
With augmented reality, on the contrary, it can extend into a virtual space, come to life and offer an immersive experience distinct from that of a still image.
Other printing or presentation techniques still offer me new territory to explore.
I do not regard this research as a break with *Imaginary Planets*. Rather, it is an extension of it.
Language evolves, yet the question remains: what else can a photograph become when we choose to look beyond what it depicts?
Inviting us to see things differently
Finally, I wish to give the viewer a prominent role.
A work no longer belongs entirely to me once it is viewed.
Everyone may see something different in it, recognise a shape I hadn’t imagined, invent a story or simply let themselves be carried away by a colour, a composition or a sensation.
This freedom of interpretation is important to me.
I prefer to open doors rather than provide all the answers.
My Imaginary Planets are thus invitations to slow down one’s gaze, to step away for a few moments from what we know, and to accept that we cannot identify everything immediately.
Look at things differently. Allow yourself to be surprised. Question what you see. And make room for beauty, the imagination and a sense of wonder.
It is within this space that I wish to continue developing my work.
→ Discover the Imaginary Planets
→ Exhibitions & artistic career
Do you have a question about this approach or a project you’d like to share? Let’s write to each other to discuss it. To discover the various approaches that have emerged from this research, browse through my photographic series.