BACKGROUND
It was during a summer workshop in Arles that the artist's late vocation for photography was revealed and that, after a long scientific and entrepreneurial career, he decided to change his life to devote himself entirely to this new passion.
He studied the history of photography at the Jeu de Paume museum, refined his technique at the Atelier des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and also took courses in studio photography and artistic research with Carlo Werner at the Centre Verdier-Photo. He also trained in platinum and palladium printing techniques with Dominique Laugé, Carlos Barrantes and Laurent Lafolie.
After participating in several workshops under the direction of photographers such as Julien Mignot or Corinne Mercadier, he perfected his artistic practice for a year with Ljubiša Danilović, Sabrina Biancuzzi and Grégoire Eloy by participating in a session of the Milk Photography Masterclass, and recently designed the series and book entitled "Ainsi fut le noir" during a session of the Masterklass hosted by Klavdij Sluban.
He is now working exclusively on the development of Quantum Photography® and of Planck, a software he developed to bring his artistic vision to life.
ARTISTIC VISION
Beyond the theoretical and artistic aspects of his work, and in defiance of prevailing ideologies, he explores themes related to the excesses and dangers of our time.
Confronted with the paradoxical injunctions of postmodern deconstruction theory (and its latest incarnation, wokeism) and of the libertarian current which, through the digital revolution, has helped foster the emergence of illiberal regimes worldwide, he refuses to align himself with either side.
From a resolutely humanist and empathetic standpoint, he examines the intimate consequences of these two revolutions: religion and belief (Ainsi fut le noir, Faith), violence and war (We'll Meet Again), suffering and loneliness (Chiaroscuro), relationships vs. individualism (A Lover's Barcarole), and transhumanism (Homo ex machina) are just a few examples.
Each of these series or videos is built with a specific “quantum process”, producing a distinctive type of imagery that matches the theme being explored. The unity of the artist’s work is therefore not something to look for in a consistent visual universe. If there is coherence, it lies rather in the chosen approach and the tools employed, as well as in the themes addressed. But the connection between all his series can also be seen in the continuum the artist seeks to establish between modes of expression that are rarely used simultaneously: black and white, color, photography, video (and its interaction with music), the figurative, and the abstract.
©2020 François J. Bourdoncle