Fresh from wowing crowds with his spectacular installation work in London’s Covent Garden, renowned French photographer Charles Pétillon is in Shanghai, displaying his art in China for the first time.
Featuring up to 100,000 balloons in a single installation, Pétillon and his team have created works in a variety of fascinating locations, with Pétillon capturing the intriguing essence of the pieces through both inventive and exceptional photographic skill.
Having worked commercially as a still life photographer for the likes of Italian Vogue, Pétillon says that his personal work aims primarily to ask questions, encouraging the audience to draw their own conclusions about his comments on society, nature and the world around us. He explains more in light of his current exhibition, Invasions, at Magda Danysz Gallery.
On his use of balloons
‘The whole idea of the balloons started as a kind of accident; balloons were just one material on a long list of materials I wanted to explore with my photography. However, when I started to use them in 2007, I was struck by how unique they are at explaining so many things. There is something universal about balloons: they’re not expensive, are accessible to many cultures around the world, and both children and adults can draw their own personal understandings of them. The colour white in most countries holds the idea of something pure or natural; it's a blank canvas on which the audience is able to project their own feelings and ideas.
'For example, in my piece "Souvenirs de Famille", I wanted it to appear as though the balloons were exploding out of the house, like the memories of the families who had lived there. Everyone has memories like this, but they are all distinctively unique, and it is this amalgamation of both the shared and the individual that I think the balloons are able to demonstrate.’
On understanding his work
‘The titles of the photographs are very important, as they essentially provide the keys for the audience to understand what I am attempting to convey. The titles give the audience a sense of the meaning behind the images, but I am not trying to aggressively force one interpretation on to them. Although some of my pieces are very big, for me it’s not about the scale of the spectacle, but carefully creating the right feeling for the meaning behind the image.’
On audience interaction
‘I really want people to feel like they are able to interact with my photography in the same way as they would with the installations themselves. The audience can interact with the buildings and spaces – when they step inside they can feel the installation, they can walk around it, walk underneath it, and understand the depth of feeling I am trying to express. However, I’m a photographer; I create every installation with the photograph in mind. I create the installations in order to provide a point of view, so I often use a front facing and central framing in order to ensure the audience can’t escape from what I am trying to show.’
On location
‘All my works start with an idea I want to express, and from there I move on to try and find the best location to express that idea. In this way, the location works as an indirect dialogue. It can take me up to three years to find the right place, and my work is very time specific - it all has to be shot between May and September, preferably on days when the wind is lower and the natural lighting is brighter. The right idea in combination with the right location is the most important aspect in all of my works.’
For full details on the exhibition, click 'Read more' below.