I had the pleasure to meet London-based photographer Thierry Bal. I caught up with him on his art, his inspiration and... Tilda Swinton.
How would you describe yourself and how would you describe your art?
I am an ideas person with a total addiction and fascination for the world of the image. I know it is a cliché, but photography is completely entwined with how I see the world, and how I treat it. I think of myself as being in the construction business.
I am an ideas person with a total addiction and fascination for the world of the image. I know it is a cliché, but photography is completely entwined with how I see the world, and how I treat it. I think of myself as being in the construction business.
Which photograph are you most proud of?
I often think that trying to choose favourites is a bit pointless. Yet, a lot of people are obsessed with ranking things, especially men. But if I had to pick one photograph, it would be a portrait I shot depicting actress Tilda Swinton. To an extent, that image put some order to my thinking about photography, due to a direct encounter with different levels of control that are gained and lost when a ‘popular‘ image is disseminated.
I often think that trying to choose favourites is a bit pointless. Yet, a lot of people are obsessed with ranking things, especially men. But if I had to pick one photograph, it would be a portrait I shot depicting actress Tilda Swinton. To an extent, that image put some order to my thinking about photography, due to a direct encounter with different levels of control that are gained and lost when a ‘popular‘ image is disseminated.
The portrait was commissioned by fashion designer Hussein Chalayan who was representing Turkey for the 2005 Venice Biennale. It was printed on postcards, bags and billboard on de Grand Canal in Venice. I had not been told that this would happen, so you can probably imagine my surprise and delight when I took a boat taxi up the canal the night of my arrival.
What has been the most beautiful collaboration you've done so far?
I specialise in working with artists and I feel very fortunate to have been involved in exciting projects with many generous and talented people.
I specialise in working with artists and I feel very fortunate to have been involved in exciting projects with many generous and talented people.
One artist that I have been working with for more than five years is the French-Algerian artist Zineb Sedira. In 2009 we traveled to Mauretania together to photograph a huge ship ‘graveyard’. More than 400 ships lie abandoned in Nouadhibou bay, dumped there by rogue shipping companies who should bring their surplus fleet to shipbreakers, but as they would have to pay these companies more money than the bribes paid to corrupt Mauretanian government officials, they choose to dump the ships where they can. That particular area is also where African refugees try to escape to the Canary Islands. A lot of the rusty ships are used as temporary housing before the people attempt to cross the choppy waters. We came back with some harrowing but incredibly potent images.
What are your next projects?
In July I went to Ghana where I worked with artist Doug Fishbone. He co-produced and starred in a feature- length film that connects two vastly different audiences – the Western art world and the African home video market. Filmed with major Ghanaian celebrities, the movie’s only artistic intervention is the insertion of Fishbone, a white American artist, as the lead role in a completely African production. The work fully adopts Ghanaian film making conventions, taking advantage of the shared language used – English - and the low cost structure of the Ghanaian home video industry. I created a series of photographs, works that sits alongside the film and which will be shown at Tate Britain in October. We are in the midst of the preparations for that.
What other artists, designers, architects do you feel close to?
What other artists, designers, architects do you feel close to?
Sculptors, painters and film makers have taught me a lot about scale, proportion, and time. Carl Andre, Donald Judd, El Greco, Van Eyck, Tarkovsky, Kiarostami, too many to mention really.
In architecture, my hero is Alvar Aalto. I am fascinated by the fact that throughout his career, he managed to retain a high degree of humanism in his buildings.
Also, I work a lot on film sets, and always keep a very close eye on what the moving–image guys are up to.
Do you work with a gallery?
Most of the work that I have made for and with artists has been shown in galleries. I see everything I do as my ‘own work’, in the sense that my own projects, outside the context of collaborations and commissions, are equally part of “what I do”. Often the demarcations are not so clear.
Most of the work that I have made for and with artists has been shown in galleries. I see everything I do as my ‘own work’, in the sense that my own projects, outside the context of collaborations and commissions, are equally part of “what I do”. Often the demarcations are not so clear.
Would you consider doing something else if you were not an artist?
I don’t really know what I would do if I wasn’t able to take photographs anymore. I haven’t thought about it. Having said that, I have always had an immense respect for the people involved in the ‘cornerstone professions’. Teachers, nurses, doctors, carers. I originally trained as a doctor. But that is a different story altogether. I wouldn’t want to go back there.
What has been the best moment of your career so far?
1.Realising that this was what I wanted to do.
I don’t really know what I would do if I wasn’t able to take photographs anymore. I haven’t thought about it. Having said that, I have always had an immense respect for the people involved in the ‘cornerstone professions’. Teachers, nurses, doctors, carers. I originally trained as a doctor. But that is a different story altogether. I wouldn’t want to go back there.
What has been the best moment of your career so far?
1.Realising that this was what I wanted to do.
2.Being lucky enough to find my niche.
Do you consider "art to be alive"?
To my knowledge, it has never died a death.
Do you consider "art to be alive"?
To my knowledge, it has never died a death.
More info on: http://thierrybal.com/
