From June 1 to December 30, 2024, immerse yourself in the captivating world of artist Giandra de Castro, where water becomes the brush for her striking photographs. By following the access route to Combloux biotope lake, you will discover around thirty works which will invite you to an experience of contemplation and wonder. In the meantime, let's meet the artist and discover together the secrets behind this exhibition, free and open to all.
Giandra de Castro, born in Brazil, developed her passion for art in France at the age of 12, drawing inspiration in particular from the Impressionists she discovered at the Musée d'Orsay. His photographic work explores various artistic movements, from impressionism to abstract through surrealism. Established in Haute-Savoie, she found a true spiritual and artistic haven near the lakes, where her work takes on its full meaning. Her talent has led her to exhibit in more than 19 countries around the world.
Your photographs, some of which are reminiscent of paintings, are remarkably unretouched. Why did you choose this approach and what challenge does it present for you as an artist?
I didn't really choose this approach, it imposed itself on me. Because when we observe a body of water, all the magic is there, from the start: the subjects, the hues, the movement of the water and its marriage with the light which give the photography atmospheres like Turner, like Monet. It's all in the water: German romanticism, abstraction, surrealism, pastels, engravings... I studied chrome and art printing at Gobelins and at ENS Louis Lumière in order to respect as much as possible the magic of the beginning during the digital development of the camera's native files (RAW). I respect the rules imposed in naturalist competitions (cropping rate, no pixels added or deleted in the image, no alteration of colors, no distortions, etc.).
The most difficult thing for me is to help observers relieve the tension that arises, legitimately, when their brain says: “this is not painting, this is reality, how is this possible? ". It's difficult to admit that all this magic, all this beauty, all this pictorialist enchantment is there, at our feet, at the edge of a lake on the shore, without boat or plane or mask or snorkel, without any tricks to catch. view nor digital transformations.
When, where and how were the works that will be exhibited on the access route to the lake made?
On three lakes: Lac Vert, Lac des Contamines, Lac de Montriond. Between 2019 and 2024, excluding COVID break. These photographs were taken by turning the camera downwards, towards the surface of the water, to capture reflections or ice ornaments, or the material water. Without any camera tricks, without motors or snorkel, just staying at the edge of the lake, on the bank.
Once the state of contemplation is reached, I frame, then I photograph in bursts to capture the movements of the water and subsequently select the best proposition of the water. Staying in a fixed location for a long time allows me to observe variations in light and angle of incidence, as well as cloud cover, which influences the level of opacity or translucency of the reflection.
How long does it take to locate a location, photograph it and finalize the work?
I've never taken an interesting photograph until the fourth hour of being at a place. At first, like everyone else, I only see appearances. With the fatigue of the gaze, the apparitions appear, and I truly feel like a shaman, a passer of worlds. I have the impression that time is a key to revealing worlds hidden in boredom, in the unnoticed, in the banal. I don't frequent many lakes, but I frequent them as a circle of close friends. It is this assiduity that allows me to collect their confidences, their unpublished stories. I spent more than 700 hours at Lac Vert, Lac des Contamines for more than 100 hours, Lac de Montriond for more than 200 hours. It then takes me a month to finalize the photography, because most of the work afterwards consists of comparing the photos two by two even to choose the magic photograph.
I do not retouch the photographs: no adding or removing elements, minimal cropping, no color grading (creation of color moods by changing hues). The development of the digital negative is restricted to the actions and proportions authorized by naturalist competitions (e.g. tone curve, sharpness, etc.)
What inspires you about the Combloux lake?
The Combloux lake is a High Place for Water. I see this place, built by men, as a Temple, built by men. Here, to honor water, celebrate its magic, and perform miracles.
How do you hope viewers respond to your exhibition and what message or emotion do you hope they take with them after seeing it?
I love this moment when an observer comes to tell me: “I will never see water like before again”, and that he tells me “this makes me want to come back to the edge of a lake”. I like that they take with them this refreshment of the gaze, this desire to stop, to let appearances give way to appearances, thanks to the fatigue of the gaze, a real opening towards these worlds hidden in the unnoticed.
As an artist, how do you perceive the role of water in our daily lives and in our collective consciousness?
Water is so present, or so rare, that we miss its magic. We experience water as a useful element in economies. We rub shoulders with domesticated, economic, geopolitical and societal water. Photographs on the theme of water are generally photo essays on drought, natural risks, dangers. It is the water of everyday space, the water of profane space. My work is part of the space of sacred water, in a process of reconnection to natural elements, to wonder.
This glass of water which contains at least one atom having passed through each of the living beings having passed through this earth, at least one atom having passed through the cosmos... The water which connects us, this universal organ which links species, which connects the living to the ecosystem and the ecosystem to the cosmos… we shower with it, we drink it without thinking about it…
You exhibited at the Perspectives de Combloux, what do you remember from it?
The Prospects of Combloux allowed me to deepen my knowledge, first of all, and reinforced my desire to combine awareness and love of water. Talking about dark water, a threat or a victim, is important. But reconnecting with your essence as Aqua Mater, Matrix of life, Binder, Solvent, material from which we weave dreams, is important too. Dark water is civilized, Anthropocene water. Primordial water, the water that connects us, is a more innocent, wilder water, a primordial and timeless water, which we want to love, and therefore to protect. Like everything, the balance is important between the message of alert and the message of love; between the rational and the sensory; between the state of water and intrinsic nature.
Are there any significant encounters or stories that demonstrate the impact of your work on raising awareness of water and environmental issues?
During Prospects of Combloux, I was charmed by the meeting with the hydrologists and glaciologists from the Institute of Environmental Geosciences (supported by the CRNS). They told me about the importance of art even for them, scientists, and invited me to exhibit around twenty works in their laboratory, in Grenoble, and to hold joint conferences on the theme Art & Science.
Your favorite state of water?
The transition. It is in the in-between that I draw my most interesting photographs, the most abstract, the most graphic, or the most evocative of immensity, with tiny details which, transfigured, evoke the immensely large. Between two states of water (icy/snow, ice/water…), between two seasons, between dream and reality, between veracity and surrealism, between photography and painting… all my evocations live in the in-between.
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