Twelve images, some mysterious places, a heavy atmosphere and an unanimated body lying down could describe this series, imagined by the author. The Ergo Vivo series (“thus I live” in Latin) presents some real strong images, each of them made in weird places carefully selected by Thierry Bigaignon, where a non-identified unanimated body lies down. But is he dead? Who is he anyway? The author? Is he a representation of us? These images trigger several questions indeed. As a first answer, the artist provides us at the beginning of the series with a quote of French writer Albert Camus which reads: “the fear of death is a luxury that only the idler can afford”.
The Ergo Vivo series may look pretty dark and depressing at first glance, but it is in fact an ode to life! Inspired by this great quote, the artist decided to devote his first photography work to it. He based his reflections on our behaviors, our speedy lives and consequently on the fact that we can no longer afford to be idler and thus to fear death. But the artist asks: is it a good thing not to fear death? Should we not hit pause from time to time, cease all of our undertakings and focus on the essential aspects of life? To this question, Thierry Bigaignon responds with a strong “Yes” and says: “If we could take the time to think about important issues, we would come out with equally important answers to our problems. It is sometimes worth to think about death in order to appreciate the real beauty of life.” That’s where the series’ title comes into play, Ergo Vivo, or rather “cogito, ergo vivo”… I think (about it), thus I live!
