I recently visited Gilbert Garcin's Mister G exhibition at the Stephen Bulger Gallery and was thoroughly impressed by his imaginative and existentialist photography. Playfully placing himself within surreal landscapes and situations, Garcin allows the viewers to temporarily escape reality. In this existential state, time and space are lost in Garcin's imaginary world. Human existence and the solitude every being experiences in life and death is very present in his collections. However, any heavy philosophies of life are muted by the humourous overtones in each work.
Interestingly, Garcin photograph's himself, cut's out the image, and pastes it back into a different constructed photograph. Garcin's non-photoshopped crop is admirably non-technological. Perhaps his old-school process reflects his age (81)? Or maybe because he is "new" to the photography field..
Interestingly, Garcin photograph's himself, cut's out the image, and pastes it back into a different constructed photograph. Garcin's non-photoshopped crop is admirably non-technological. Perhaps his old-school process reflects his age (81)? Or maybe because he is "new" to the photography field..
On a side note, although many critics suggest French photographer Garcin's work is surrealist, I see many similarities between his photographs and German Expressionist Films.. For example, 1920s German Expressionist silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene.
(Two images above for comparison of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)
Garcin's Images from www.gilbert-garcin.com
Awesome selection!
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