Aaron is a photographer who has always been captivated by the human emotions that can be captured through the lens of a camera.
Now aged 67, Aaron devotes his time to photography, seeing it not only as a medium but also as a way of exploring the depths of human emotions and dreams.
Via Galactea series – Sirocco
I’m a photographer fascinated by human emotions.
Even as a student, I was proud of my silver development ‘cupboard’. Magical moments, watching the results of my captures appear under the glow of the red lamp. The pictures drying, hanging on a thread…
Then I became a doctor, with a particular interest in psychoanalysis. There was a long hiatus from photography and about 10 years ago I resumed this activity more intensively, this time using digital technology….
Today, at the age of 67, I devote my time exclusively to photography.
For me, photography is just a medium. It’s a marvellous path that I’m lucky enough to follow and that allows me to travel to the land of people, emotions and dreams…
Via galactea” series
I was born in Morocco where I lived until the age of 7. There is only one series in which this origin is clearly apparent. It’s called “Alchimie”. It is marked by reparation, guidance and empathy. I used ochre clay to dress the models’ bodies. It’s undeniably an atmosphere that evokes Morocco. A need to return to our roots. A bit like a child who experiences a wound and finds comfort in contact with its mother.
My work as a doctor and my interest in psychoanalysis and spirituality inevitably leave their mark on my photography. The image of the body, wounds and the sacred are recurring themes for me.
“Via galactea” series
Emotions are at the heart of my work.
The images I produce today come from my dream world. They are nourished by symbolism, wounds, poetry and the sacred.
Contact with the unconscious is extremely important to me. I particularly like it when the viewer discovers one of my photos and feels that little second of floating, that tiny second when there is no code for what they are seeing. We are connected and we can communicate directly from unconscious to unconscious. This is the realm of emotion, this tiny little second. That’s what keeps me creative.
“Via galactea” series
In everything that surrounds us, you’ll find subjects that interest you and that will make for great experiences.
Then there will be the subject that pleases you. This will bring you joy and satisfaction.
Then, as you let go, as you give yourself permission, series emerge that have something stronger, something more charged, something with more impact… And one day, there’s a subject that moves you and that’s when things start to get exciting for you, and for those who watch your work. You’re going to tackle subjects that are emotionally charged for you. And when there’s emotion in your head, in your heart, inevitably you feel it on the outside.
Even when you feel like you’re inspired by something, it’s because that something touches you somewhere. In fact, we’re always putting something of ourselves into it.
Extrapolating, we might wonder whether photographers, by taking so many photos, aren’t spending their time making self-portraits?
I don’t think this happens by decision. It’s more a subconscious process that happens when it should.
It’s not a question of production, but rather of how awake you are at a given moment in your history, your experience, your feelings…
“Maybe tomorrow” exhibited for several months in Japan, Japan national art center, Tokyo.
When I look back at my earliest photographs (which date back some forty years, after all), I can already see this pronounced taste for human emotions. Rarely landscapes, very often human beings, emotions captured. I particularly remember a series of photos I took when I was a nurse at a holiday camp where the children had the particularity of being Down’s syndrome… I’m still overwhelmed when I look at those photos with all those emotions pinned on them. What made them so special was that, with these kids, the expressions were there in their raw state, without the social pressure to agree… Everything was there – the fears, the joys, the laughter, the mistrust, the anxiety ….
When I think about it, I’m still searching for authenticity. Technology has changed, digital has taken the place of film, but the emotions are still there.
I often invite the people posing to abandon the social smile of propriety and allow more authentic expressions to emerge. It’s not an easy exercise. We are never as naked as when we offer an authentic look.
Golden balance
Today, I only work in the studio and with models.
I always give them a great deal of freedom. Above all, I try to nurture their creativity through music, words and contact with materials. I never ask them to play a role, but rather to experience something inside them, something powerful, something that touches them personally. The moment of shooting happens almost unconsciously, immersed in the volume of the music. It can be sacred music, a symphony, a requiem or the standards of the Doors or Leonard Cohen…
The whole team is in a bit of a trance. Let it emerge…
There have been times during the shoot when I’ve felt my hair stand on end or tears start to flow…
It’s only at the moment of viewing that I snap out of it. I’m regularly surprised by the emotion that emanates from the shots. Surprised, as if I were a link in a chain that goes beyond me. I receive, I transmit, it passes through me but arrives from further away …
Emotion is the key word. Often dark, such as fear, loss, anxiety, pain, madness, separation, vulnerability, but also luminous with hope, naivety, poetry, the sacred…
Matter is also important in my work. Whether it’s water, flour, paint or clay, the material is always present. In my opinion, it enhances emotion. It conveys a sense of confusion. It’s as if it were difficult to place the work, halfway between sculpture, painting and photography… The material plays a full part in this precious second of floating.
My style is deliberately pared down to get straight to the heart of the matter: the look and the expression. Above all, I don’t allow myself to be distracted unnecessarily. Light guides the eye’s journey through the painting. It takes the viewer by the eyes and leads them precisely to their destination…
” Shade of Pale “
Then comes the time for post-production, which for me is a fully-fledged phase of the photographic act. And here it’s the inner child who takes over the creative reins. Choosing the atmosphere for the series, the way of treating it that will give it the desired impact. Everything before is just a gestation period, the painting is now ready to be brought into the world, to be looked at…
For me, photography is not about capturing reality but about recreating it.
“Adagio in utero” is part of the “Inkantations” series.
This series was created in close collaboration with the painter Cécile Coent.
I used Cécile’s inks to dress the model and the backgrounds.
The initial painting had this embryonic shape, like a spinal column.
The model (Ailine) slipped into this amniotic sac with her grace to refine this growth to the rhythm of the adagio.
Hatching is imminent…
“The clan – the pack”
There are two series that are particularly important to me and that are particularly ‘inhabited’:
“East Side of the Cloud and Alchimie. In fact, they follow each other chronologically and are intimately linked.
One day my friend and psychoanalyst François Gatel sent me a message:
“Go and see the Sankai Juku show, it’s the last one tonight. It’s a continuation of your photographic work….”.
I didn’t ask myself any questions and went to the box office without even knowing if there were any tickets left. I think I got the last seat available.
I discovered Butoh choreography. I was fascinated by these bare-chested dancers with shaven heads and white skin. With the warm, directed lighting and the slow movements. I felt that these paintings spoke directly to the emotions and to letting go. I found this work very inspiring….
This series involved 8 sessions with 9 different models. So it started completely unconsciously, from a scopic emotion.
As the sessions progressed, the initially furtive thoughts of childhood wounds became more and more present. Incredible synchronicities punctuated these sessions, clearly showing me that I was in the process of re-enacting my own wounds.
A final session was added because a model friend absolutely wanted to take part in this series. I can say that this last session took place in full consciousness.
Here we are, reopening the wounds to close them better… Repair…
The result was a powerful, hard-hitting, emotionally-charged series that leaves no one indifferent. It has won several awards and led to the publication of the book “East side of the cloud” by Corridor Eléphant.
“Alchimie” was an obvious choice for me immediately after “East Side”, a calming, benevolent reconstruction. The images are much softer and reassuring, with the clay doing the rest. It also led to the publication of a book.
“The Clan” – the hideout”
Ever since I finished the ‘East Side’ series, I’ve had a deep-seated desire to do something immersive with it.
To forget that you’re looking at photos and take the journey.
To stimulate the eye, to make you want to turn your head to the left, to the right, to the front?
In short, forget that you’re a spectator and become an actor in what’s happening. To be at the heart of the journey, and in touch with the emotion.
I finally found the right venue for this project, the Berthe et Edgar gallery in Chatou. An exhibition was held there from 21 to 26 March 2023. A space was reserved for an immersive projection of the series. The dream has come true!
Strain Time series
I’ve always felt the need to have a foot in art. I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with several media in the course of my life (pantomime, music, painting and video). For about ten years now, photography has been my preferred medium. It’s an essential balance, allowing me to sublimate my emotions.
Strain Time series
Inkantations series – I’ve come so far
The clan – In memorium
The clan – Pray for the angel
The clan – Mobilis in mobile
Strain Time series
Strain Time series
Strain Time series
“Gravidis”
“Fragilis – Take me away”
“Fragilis – I remember”
“Assurance” Soul Face series By Aaron art
Insurance
Essential for living without being overwhelmed,
Whether it’s at work, where you can flourish,
Or in your home to fall in love.
To be sure of your feelings so you can share.
A look full of ambition and determination,
Courage, the desire to follow this direction,
It’s a great strength, anchored in her being,
To live is to love, you have to recognise that!
Appearing weak in the eyes of the world,
Yet so strong inside.
All the hardships sown along the way,
Braved they have developed his confidence.
The assurance of a wonderful life,
Confidence in a strong personality,
Confidence in the awakening of a laughing soul,
Assurance served with equality.
Ang’art’s poem about photography.
” Fragilis – Next door “
“Birdy – Extase”
“Blessure” Soul Face series by Aaron art
Wound
An emotional wound,
The aftermath of childhood,
Abandonment, wandering,
What a cruel life!
No longer loved,
Being rejected,
Physical or emotional,
Nothing lasts forever.
Injustice
Stop being capricious,
Without fairness,
Wanting peace.
Humiliated,
Yet bound,
Lower than the ground,
To be austere.
Sweet betrayal,
Tear of sadness,
Recoil and wisdom,
towards healing!
Ang’art’s poem about photography