Héloïse Gagnon

Art Photographer

My grand-father introduced me to film photography at a young age. He taught me how to adjust my camera, how to frame my pictures and how to shoot. The french riviera was our film canvas.

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I gave up photography for a while and when I started travelling on my own, I bought a digital camera. It didn't take long for me to go back to film photography, for the grain, for the patience and reflection of framing my subjects and for doing experiments with various films, cameras and accessories. Film photography can be, with your imagination, an endless experience.

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Welcome, and enjoy my work.

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Review from LensCulture on the serie Step Into 

"Hello Héloïse. I have taken some time to study your series, titled, “Step into”, looking for visual clues that point to what you are trying to accomplish with your photography practice. You are obviously a skilled photographer with a strong sense of composition. You provide an informative and insightful statement that says, “This series represents the feelings of the first step you have to take to make IT happen. It is the trip you dreamt about, the shop you wanted to open, the house you are going to buy, or the baby you will birth. It is excitement, fear and a lot of unanswered questions thrown into the unknown. Not "Who am I?" but "Why am I doing this?" It is not a dark series, it is a foggy one.”

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Looking through the portfolio I feel like this is very much a cohesive series – visually and conceptually a creative, thoughtful study of these dreamy, enigmatic places. The result is a collection of mysterious, almost romantic images that represent metaphors for the risks we must take to succeed, fail, and grow. Your collection of documents the primeval locations, dreamlike and poetic. The scenes spark the imagination, appearing to be the magical places of post-apocalyptic fairy tales.

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The framework of natural structures create moody atmospheres, which seems to be your source of creative inspiration. With this project you create a visual effect that brings the viewer to the scene, looking through your eyes - to reveal fascinating visual observations! The photos speak of memories, of the mind’s eye as it looks back at the places of the past, the chances that were taken and the exciting feelings of stepping into the unknown! You seek to capture the ghosts that stand on the other side of the misty wall. Your images also show that you are aware of this intimate relationship between these places and the decisions we must make, the chances we must take.

I see your photos as timeless and, in a way, shadowy compositions of tonality, texture, and shadow. And I see that you are fascinated by the way the positioning of dissolving forms, organic, overlapping forms that can create painterly designs, especially when the frame isolates the subject matter from its surroundings. The organic structures and the textures in the frame define new visual structures in space. Your impressionistic photos remind us all of the wonders these scenes and the interdependence we have with these visually stunning landscapes. Your portfolio also reminds us of the inherent beauty of those things we can’t see clearly!

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I think your creative observations are very unique. From a practical perspective, you explore these places, photograph these scenes, move in and out of light and shadow while looking for what catches your eye. I think this is a good description of what a lot of photographers do. Out of the infinite photographic possibilities that arise around you, these meaningful compositions are most likely to catch YOUR eye – the same scenes that go mostly unnoticed by others. Then, you frame the images and create new perspectives of what you saw and photographed. Your thoughtful attention to these subjects and the way they relate to the viewer of the photos creates images that influence the way other people see these natural, environmental subjects.

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On the surface these images have a type of visual complexity that concentrates on soft surface structures and rich mid-range tonality, but I also find them to be conceptually complex! These photos create a sense of mood, atmosphere, and drama. The designs lead the eye up, down, and throughout the frame in a way that makes the viewer feel as though they may have walked by these scenes and not noticed them. To me, the photos are interesting because they blur the line between fine art photography, documentary, and landscape. Yet, they mostly represent a conceptual, poetic approach. It would be great to hear more of your thoughts, your inspirations.

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Your visual observations and interpretations are clearly important characters in your stories. I think you are also asking that the viewer be sensitive enough to look deeply at your images, to see the details you have included in the frame and to consider how the misty environments relate to the size and texture of the geometric forms. Some of your compositions become abstract. They focus on shapes with little indications of scale and orientation. In fact the soft atmospheres in some photos gives the impression of painterly tones on a canvas. The photos leave much the imagination of the viewer. The viewer tried to find their bearings by bringing their own experiences of places like these. And while the viewer explores, he/she is confronted with bringing their own imagination to the scenes.

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I see that you captured patterns, textures, and shapes that point to isolated “places”. In all the photos there is a kind of ambience that is a kaleidoscope of ghostly space, reaching trees, and mysterious paths, and full of drama. The images also function in a way that communicates your experience to the viewer. Anyone that is willing to set aside their compulsion to have to identify every part of what they are looking at will relate to the feelings and emotions your images communicate. For me, I sense solitude and isolation in these photos.

The photos in this series talk about the way we are so closely related to the natural environment and how fragile we are when confronted by the power and persistence of mother nature. The photos are backdrops for memories or unformed, imaginary ideas. In addition, they are beautiful photographic subjects! Each scene, like each person, has its own personality, physical characteristics, and emotional expressiveness."

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