The Light Fades

What habit has been sustaining you lately?
In winter, even in the south of France, the light fades. I find myself taking fewer photographs and turning instead to books, to cinema, to the theatre. These arts feed my imagination and creativity, keeping me connected to the present moment and to my inner world. Cinema has held an important place in my life since early childhood, and photography has naturally become the primary medium through which I explore the world — and myself. Words give rise to images and sensations within me, which I carry quietly, letting them take shape over time, until they find their way into a photographic series. What moves me most is not the image itself, but what it allows me to feel and to share.

What time of day do you feel most like yourself?
In the quiet of morning, just after waking — or at any moment of the day when I am alone with myself. It is in these suspended moments that I feel most true, as it is rare to be entirely oneself in the presence of others. For this reason, self-portraiture has always felt more comfortable to me. What began simply as a practical way to learn the act of photographing has gradually become an exploratory space, where I feel freer and more spontaneous than during sessions with models. My self-portraits embrace an introspective form of photography, one that quietly infiltrates everyday life.

When recently did you feel out of place?
Sitting alone at a restaurant table not long ago, I felt slightly out of place. I did not quite belong to the usual rhythm, nor the familiar style of the clientele.

What are you still holding onto even though you know you’ll eventually have to let go?
I am rather determined when an idea takes hold of me. In the difficulty of seeing it through, we sometimes become more naïve, more inventive — and it is precisely there that creativity opens up, inviting us to question ourselves and allowing the original desire to quietly evolve.

What scares you more today: change or staying the same?
The thought of staying the same frightens me most. I love the idea of evolving, of growing, of learning new things. In my photographic practice, I enjoy changing my habits, letting something new emerge, and surprising myself along the way.

Recommend a movie, an album, and a book.
Hard to pick just one: Black Dog by Hu Guan Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier or any Tarkovsky movie. An album would be Hot Dreams by Timber Timbre and a book, All About Love by bell hooks.

What is your favorite restaurant and what do you recommend we order?
I would say Le Consolat in Marseille, a restaurant serving Asian cuisine full of nuances, and I would order their bold reinterpretation of mussels and fries, stir-fried in a wok with yuxiang sauce.

Which friend have you admired lately, and why?
The work of Francesca Woodman is and will always be the one that moves me the most, and the one I identify with most deeply. Lina Scheynius, for her part, captures everyday life with subtlety in a delicate style that is uniquely her own, and she inspired me to start my personal photographic diary.