From the 13th of December until the 27th of January 2019, the Leica gallery showcased a fascinating exhibition which composed of showing the French artist, Pierre Gonnord’s work and his project ‘Nature Tales’. The exhibition consists of several diptychs of his which display a human face with an animal alongside it.
Gonnord, P. Max 2019 and Elena, 2010, Leica Gallery
‘If Rembrandt were a photographer instead of a painter, and if he were drawn to the margins of society rather than to himself (and his other subjects) he might have produced works very much like those of Pierre Gonnord.’ – (Tim McLaughlin, 2012)
His images are very soft and have quite a beautiful lighting; he chooses his subjects with great care and photographs in precise ways – ‘His subjects’ faces are always set against a dark background’ (Bob Chaundy, 2019). The black background allows the face to be lit softly but also to keep the focus specific. His subjects are somewhat known to be underprivileged as Gonnord states he looks for characters that “are lost, collapsed by the system” (Pierre Gonnord, unknown)
This particular diptych spoke out to me the most as I felt a real connection between the bird and the women, I think this connection is due to the similarity in looks, colour and the pose in which they are photographed.
When viewing this project, it came across as very beautiful and silent; he chose the subjects carefully and placed the animals next to the portraits. – ‘In these portraits, he asks the viewer to look beyond the genetic profile of each subject, feel their individual spirit and personality and also the relationship within each juxtaposition.’ (https://en.leica-camera.com/Leica-Galleries/Leica-Gallery-London/News-Program/Pierre-Gonnord-Nature-Tales, 2018)
The photographs are from different times, so I guess that having these images together was not an intentional approach. Still, it is, in my opinion, a successful one.
Gonnord used mythical backgrounds of the animals when choosing which creature to place next to the portraits. Still, incredibly they work so well next to each subject aesthetically - ‘Drawing on the rich visual tapestry of time-old fables of mythical animals and magical creatures.’
– (https://lfionline.de/ceemes/en/shop/london_leica-gallery_pierre-gonnord-1006483.html, 2019)
I found the exhibition to be quite intriguing. It has inspired me to take a similar approach with this project and bring Jakes nans portrait next to the foxes as they play a significant part in her life, or maybe have a better-composed image of her cat next to her on a page as her cat also plays a massive role in her life. His work is a little bit more staged compared to what I would like to show as I want mine to come across as more natural; however, I like the idea of the layout next to the animal and the significance that animal has to the subjects.
