LaurentGiguere

I am from Montreal and this large city is a bit like my second skin. I’ve explored its different sectors on foot, sometimes walking more than 15 km at a time, trying to find myself through these places. Some are loaded with memories. Others echo my feelings, fears and questions.

I photograph the city to make it talk—to make it talk silently. I like giving it a muted aspect. The minimalist character of my pictures is a part of this, focusing attention on places that are on the margins of the city’s aggressive presence, where silence muffles the posters and their boldface slogans.

Inspired by the silences and enigmatic latency of the work of Christopher Pratt, with its sober tones and schematized visuals, I take advantage of overcast days to capture this sense of urban “standby.” They’re calmer, less frenetic days, with a soft light that reflects evenly over all surfaces. Their atmosphere lets me capture and organize the visual elements that help me articulate my search and find more authentic responses to the illusions held out by contemporary society.

Most often, I take my pictures in black and white in order to step out of time, amplify the stillness and give more emphasis to the lines. Sometimes I integrate color, but in an attenuated, stripped-down way to maintain a neutral aspect that encourages reflection.

I prefer working with film (35 mm) for the quality of the pictures it produces, but also for the tangible nature of the medium. With so much that isn’t palpable, it gives a concrete dimension to my introspective process.




find me on behance:
www.behance.net/laurentgiguere
Tumblr
laurentgphoto.tumblr.com/