Martin d Orgeval Livres

Of this, his first book, Martin d/Orgeval--who studied at the Sorbonne and has worked as an assistant to Fran ois-Marie Banier--says, "I traveled to Easter Island in the winter. In July. The isolation, the climate and the elements as well as the statues, all created an oppressive atmosphere a long way from the tourist images. I wanted to face that, to grasp this uneasy mixture through my own contemplation... Language of stones, of water, of earth, planar writing. Note it down, gather a vocabulary out of natural elements and human traces. Solitary objects, away from the world... The texture of a rock resonates in me like the vibration of a string. Roughness, buzzing, racket, or, soon, respiration, silence, emptiness. I photograph the permanent. What has always been and will always be; what is constant."

"These photographs speak to our search for truth, the truth in things, and the truth within each of us. By focusing on simple objects they hint at what endures in our understanding of the world. Whilst evidently not self-portraits, they are nonetheless a documentary and introspective confession, intended to reach beyond the intimate and to touch on something of a larger order, something spiritual. To create is an act of existence - but there is no existence without destruction. The architecture of this place is in an intermediate, dormant state. It was once alive and it is not yet dead. In this space between two universes a curious time descends, a quiet, transparent moment with no pollution of any kind. With the clarity of a mirror it simultaneously reflects a perfect and a damaged version of our soul. It is not the importance of the subject that holds my interest. I like the idea of being able to write, paint or make a photograph out of almost nothing, from or about an object without apparent qualities, to begin with the most obvious and simple things and discover in them some overriding truth. Their power can be captivating as they serve as a statement on the natural chaos of life." Martin d'Orgeval