The shots for these two series were taken in the Plan de Campagne shopping center in 2022 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. for 5 nights. This site is one of the largest shopping centers in France located between Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.
Although noticeably different in their forms, the two series question the strange beauty of buildings, objects, spaces illuminated by night lighting. The erasure of the writings on the panels and the metal walls of the buildings that disturb our perception of the signifier-signified.
« Pollution lumineuse, Plan de Campagne 2022 »
Researchers have demonstrated that public lighting at night disrupts the biological cycle of animal species and sometimes constitutes an insurmountable barrier, undermining ecological continuities. Artificial light also affects plants, by disrupting their pollination period. Faced with this problem, the 2018 Law on public lighting prohibited lighting in shops between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. This regulation is not respected, despite this observed waste of energy and its ecological impact.
« Suite géométrique, Plan de Campagne 2022 »
To redistribute the seen and the unseen, the real is distanced on the mode of observation, of inventory, without hierarchy. The staging of the buildings-hangars with the night as a backdrop, the elimination of logos and advertising texts allow access to the spectacle of verticalities, horizontalities and flat areas of color.
Michel Rey lives and works in Arles. He develops an author’s work on the contemporary photographic act and on the photographer’s relationship to the image where reality and fiction intersect. His research favors portraits, still lifes and the geometry of buildings, mirrors of his concerns about the near future of the planet and the issue of alienation. He confronts the gaze of professional photographers by participating in training courses (Rencontres d’Arles with Antoine d’Agata, Vee Speers, Aurore Valade) and workshops (Fontaine Obscure with Pierre-Emmanuel Daumas in Aix en Provence and Closed on Monday in Marseilles with Olivier Monge and Roxane Daumas).
Michel Rey : Pollution lumineuse & Suite géométrique
from March 22 to April 15, 2023
Fontaine Obscure
24 avenue Henri Poncet
13090 Aix en Provence, France
www.fontaine-obscure.com
www.michel-rey-photographe.com
Instagram : michel.rey0490
