Openfolio #5

Bénédicte Blondeau

Laureate

What Remains & Waves

Whether taken in an urban setting or in nature, my images revolve primarily around the concept of perception—they speak to a particular way of looking at the world at a given moment. 

My work can be seen as an expression of this perspective, which is constantly evolving because it is continually shaped by life’s experiences. In this sense, the autobiographical aspect is inherent in my artistic approach. For this Openfolio, I will present two series, both of which have been featured in exhibitions and in a photo book published by XYZ Books: What Remains and Waves .

What Remains   explores the tension between the chilling mastery of man-made environments and the strange majesty of organic forms slowly shaped by natural elements and evolution. By shifting back and forth between these two perspectives, the series invites a shift in perspective, reminding us that the environment shaped and controlled by humans is just as fragile and ephemeral—while plants, animals, and mineral formations appear frozen in time by the camera, equally solemn and preserved for eternity.

Waves explores the waves of energy that shape our lives while transcending their boundaries, thereby eluding our ability to fully perceive them. By combining images of landscapes captured in ancient glaciers, caves, or volcanic regions with visual recordings derived from ultrasound scans of her own pregnancy and microscopic views of seawater droplets, the artist explores the connection to the place from which we come and to which we will return, within a vision where everything is intertwined and in perpetual transformation, whether we are able to perceive it or not.

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