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Jean-Marie Fadier –Argentypes

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Moving deliberately away from the object, the works of Jean-Marie Fadier break the conventional codes of photography. In the strict etymological sense they do not “represent” (i.e. shape the light), but result from the capture of light on sensitive papers, sometimes old papers of either small or large format. By exposing these photo-sensitive surfaces to the rough climes and stormy elements of these famous Mounts of Aubrac, sung by Julien Gracq, Fadier deconstructs the photographic object.

Practicing without a camera, without shooting, he favours his skills instead, the know-how of the gesture, throwing developer and fixer over and over onto the sensitive paper. The latent image, which holds the gesture suspended in the air, is revealed in the workshop. Thus, unlike traditional photography, each piece is unique, non-reproducible. The resulting works are rich, with a wide gamut of colours; a strange palette, quite “extra-ordinary”.

Fadier, a former chief-operator, gets effects which could not be achieved without remarkable skills: his mastering of all the image parameters, his knowledge of sound and vibrations.The fact that these experiments are abstractions brings us back to the very beginning of the history of photography, when Nicéphore Niépce, its inventor, exact contemporary of William Turner, was struggling to get as precise black and white shapes as possible. Modernity led to creations that, at first glance, could seem almost opposite if both did not attest to did not reveal an extreme attention to light: realistic black and white is not the enemy of the dissolution of all forms and its subsequent celebration of colour.

Monique Sicard

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