Initially there was doubt and fear, ubiquitous. The doubt about my ability to be a father, the doubt about my ability to succeed in loving. … The fear also that the intensely close couple, my selfish desires will not survive the arrival of this child at the same time so much desired and feared.
Josephine is now 8 years old and those doubts have been dispelled, driven out by new ones. Love is obvious. The fear of death is another one. I live with both. Then with all my heart and soul, I photograph both of us, the three of us. Love, fears, joys, angers and sorrows come together in my photographs. Others are not welcome in this imaginary paradise that I build. It is a constant struggle against the inevitable ending (that I fear so much) of this love microcosm.
Since 2009 I have been photographing our family, first without paying attention, with the camera that comes to hand, and then the series starts to build itself, and photography becomes less spontaneous. I found a suitable photographic process, I stick to it… I look for a good picture, probably a little too much… For a while, I realize, I am practically not taking any more family pictures, I am taking pictures for the series … So, today, it is time to stop. Time flies and now more than ever it is clear for me that “nothing is opposed to the night, nothing to explain …”* and I have yet to dare all.
*From the song “Osez Joséphine” by Alain Bashung
Arno BRIGNON
Arno Brignon – Joséphine
November 24th – January 26th, 2019
Lumière d’Encre
47 rue de la République
66400 Céret
