OPEN TO INTERPRETATION is a series of still lifes composed in his studio by Benoit Malphettes
OPEN TO INTERPRETATION
For this series I am returning to the intimate and personal world of still life in my studio.
A world of quietness and contemplation, a world of fluidity and liberation: it is 530 in the morning, I sit in front of an empty backdrop and let my mind go without my guidance, giving it as much space as it wants. Then I compose and photograph as a spectator of my unconscious, fully aware to keep at bay the vigilance of reason, at least at this stage.
I have collected over the years many objects, artifacts, old documents, whatever, and comes the moment where I no longer look at them for what they are but, instead, I follow them within the world they invite me into. I slowly listen to their stories: this one was a gift, this one I picked up on the ground, this one was bought on a rainy day when I was sad, this one is beautiful, this one not so much, this one I use daily, this one is useless.
I then deliberately free them from their static existence by combining them with unexpected company, placing them in provocative or threatening positions, until new emotions emerge — fear, anxiety, lust, distress, solitude, senescence - all emotions that, sooner or later, accompany us in our journey. Some might think this approach turns forgotten memories into beauty or decay as in the imageries reminiscent of the traditional XVIIe century French still lifes but many are simply autobiographical.
This series at times may seem visually disjointed because I use a traditional photographic discipline with a digital equivalent of a large format camera instead of digital textures and post processing to keep the cohesiveness of my thoughts and a strong visual impact. Emotions are not logical, they are not digital.
Hopefully the viewer will discover explicit or diffuse associations that may or may not have anything to do with my personal views, but the symbols are all there for the audience's choosing, from tempus fugit to the terror of death, all skillfully camouflaged by our daily subterfuges.
Sometimes, I try to explain to myself the strange and disparate concoctions suggested by my photographic work but mostly, I am left with more questions than answers.