This new exhibition that the Little Big Galerie is devoting to Estelle Lagarde constitutes a trilogy. Trilogy born from the photographer’s desire to confront her approach, her narrative and emotional ambition, no longer at the heart of the building, the constructions of human architecture, but this time towards the outside, nature, the landscape, the elements that sculpt and cross them. And always at the center, the child. The link that allows discovery.
It was probably a telluric force that initially led her to Iceland to draw from as close as possible to this volcanic land a connection to the Earth, to its nourishing force, but also through the alchemy that is born from the lava, ashes. And which gives life. A conjunction between immensity and human incarnation, a link between mineral and flesh. Rock and water as original materials. By embracing both the organic and the epic.
“The next day, I bathed naked in the cold water of the waterfall. I recharged my batteries in the perpetual movement of water which, like time, makes the world possible. I looked up to admire the two wonderful rainbows. Legend said that at their foot, a nymph, a god, or elves had hidden their most sacred possession. I imagined that our daughter was one of them and that she had always lived there in the secret of this ancient knowledge. The deafening roar of the water reminded me that nature is great and, humans, very small next to it. There are landscapes that teach you meditation and freedom. Their harshness increases humility while making you stronger.” Estelle Lagarde
Estelle Lagarde’s journey then continued within the landscapes of Aubrac, in France, and constitutes the second chapter of this rediscovery or reappropriation of the territory. It is a question here of an encounter more in connection with the vegetation, the animal but with the wind and the rain which run through the valleys and the plains, sculpting a topography which offers a little more avenues for humans to explore, browse, experience and reveal yourself.
“Here, photography paves the path that leads to white magic. It is the edge of the woods, outside the walls. Photography makes skies, roots, rocks visible. It clears the way for the future of pioneers. Light the fire at night. Howl with the wolf and sing with the swan to form an alliance under the golden moon. Being a stone thrown from the kayak flowing gently towards the river bed. Examine the vulture as it circles, carried by the ascending current of the gorges.” Estelle Lagarde
And it is finally with L’Ile that this earthly journey of Estelle Lagarde ends. The time for taming seems to have come. A complicity is woven between the place and the travelers. Curiosity is still alive. The exploration still in progress, but a letting go appears between this isolated land and the protagonists of this last chapter. Humans invest a little more space, trust is (re)born between them, fragile and vigilant, but tangible in their interactions.
“It is a wandering which can lead towards a contemplation or a fictional space depending on the viewer, and which tends to question the place and time of our existences on planet earth and in the universe, and to bring us back to a certain humility. Like a vanity, a memento mori.” Estelle Lagarde
The journey that Estelle Lagarde offers us is indeed that of pioneers. Those who have forgotten what connected us to the Earth, where we come from, where we grow, where we come together and where we love.
The three characters in this trilogy experienced it, a little closer with each chapter, letting the territories and elements come to their perception, with the child as a catalyst. Link between her and him. Link between this Earth and them. The pionneers.
Estelle Lagarde : « Les pionniers »
April 9 – May 20, 2024
Little Big Galerie
45 rue Lepic
75018 Paris
Mardi-samedi, de 11h à 19h30
Dimanche , de 14h à 19h30
et sur rdv
Tél : 01 42 52 81 25
[email protected]
www.littlebiggalerie.com
