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Your photographs have an almost shamanic dimension.

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I love that word! 

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Me too. I find that the physical contact you depict in your works evokes associations with rituals or even spells. It feels like your photo sessions unfold like rituals. How do your photo sessions go, and how do you find models for your photos, models who are so open with you?

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I have a very intuitive way of working. I don’t plan, I don’t draw, I don’t think things through beforehand. For me, photography is almost a pretext to meet people, it’s what allows me to approach them, to open the door. Once you’re in the encounter, you have to adapt to the other person, go at their pace, and build together with them.

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The experiences with the models are very different. For example, I had an experience with a family with whom I spent a week. They confided many very intimate things to me. It’s interesting to see what I allow myself to photograph or not. I saw them in very vulnerable moments. They cried, they argued in front of me. When you’re faced with that, you don’t know if you have the right to take photos or if it’s inappropriate. I’ve always wanted to be in situations where everything happens with kindness, trust, and sharing, and especially not in a voyeuristic position. That’s why I need to have a very human, intuitive relationship with my models.

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Artistically speaking, I have a rather unique way of working with my models. I am there, I live with them, we talk, I fully immerse myself in their daily life. This can last a week or an evening. I observe, I take photos. If nothing happens, I create an atmosphere. I set up the frame in which I want to compose.

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For example, I might run a bath for them to join. I am there as an observer, but then they forget about me and relax. Such situations allow me to get closer to my models, to relax them, and to let them naturally abandon themselves to each other.

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When I intervene, I move the furniture, light candles, set up lights. I create a setting, and then they are free to do what they want. But it’s me who composes the frame. I work on the frame and the ambiance, and those are aspects I really enjoy.

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Have you ever photographed your friends during intimate photo sessions? Don’t you find that a bit risky? Because when you enter their intimate space, you know a lot. Hasn’t that changed your relationship with them?

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I have all sorts of experience regarding entering my friends’ intimacy. I started by photographing my friends. I would say it definitely brought us closer. We already had a very strong bond of trust. The fact of revealing such an intimate aspect of themselves to me creates an even stronger bond. But it happens over the years. These are friends with whom I’ve built a long-term relationship. I feel like I’m now part of their lives in an almost indefinable way, where it’s not clear if it’s friendship or love. I feel like I have an important place in their lives, it allowed me to access this intimacy, to photograph them, to question them, and to question myself in relation to them. 

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There is a lot of sensuality in your photographs. What message do you wish to convey through this? How do these elements contribute to the artistic expression you aim to communicate? In what way do you think it enriches the viewer’s perception of your work?

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These three years of intimate exploration were a way of trying to answer both personal and universal questions. Questions posed by my co-author, Juliette Brevilliero: “What is love? Is making love the same as loving? When do we love?” Originally, when I started, I was in a form of idealization of free love. I thought, “Oh, maybe this is the solution for being happy in love: being in a form of freedom and connection with others.” And I wanted to meet many people to answer all these questions. Ultimately, I still don’t have the answers. There is no ideal love or relationship.

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The poet Juliette Brevilliero, co-author of my first book New Loves, which we published very recently, has clearly highlighted what my photography is about and what message it sends to the viewer. With her words, Juliette raised all the questions, opened all the possibilities without providing answers. I find that she adds depth to my photos, which speak more the language of desire and connection between individuals, of exploration. Her poetry poses questions: how can we live with others, how do we build relationships? When we love multiple people, does it make us impervious to jealousy, to the fear of abandonment? Do we still desire to be unique to the other? The fact that the poem poses the questions and the photos prompt reflection, I think that’s the message. An invitation to question oneself, to deconstruct our models a bit, and to journey into plural loves.

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Nudity is often used as a means to symbolize and explore human desire in all its complexity. It can be seen as an expression of vulnerability and authenticity, reminding us of our own humanity and our connection with others. The way we live our solitude can also be revealed through nudity, as it confronts us with ourselves, our most intimate thoughts, and our deepest desires. Juliette’s texts, with their emotional depth and sensitivity, highlight these aspects of the human experience. They offer a poetic reflection on the nature of existence and on how we navigate our relationships with others and with ourselves. Thus, the combination of texts and photographs creates a rich and immersive artistic experience, exploring themes of nudity, desire, and solitude in a profound and evocative manner.

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