alain-etchepare

Born on December 1965 in Biarritz (France).
Today, my work is essentially centered on the fascinating possibilities of interpretations and evocations offered by some man-made structures, whether modern or ancient, not in didactic form or documentary form, but rather by trying to stimulate the spectator’s imagination and by touching him through dreamlike or poetic visions. In approaching my images as actors as opposed to mere spectators, people are able to become part of them through my eyes only, and through the traces that they leave, superb or hideous, useful or destructive.

For as long as I can remember, I have always visualized my environment. But my true encounter with photography took place in 1984 during a long stay in Polynesia : thanks to a friend of mine, I was allowed to participate to a darkroom session. I was totally enthralled and had only one thought on my mind : to devote my life to a flow of pictures. As an autodidact, I started a career and I was a photographer of illustrations until 2001. By ideological conviction I decided to do something different and created a public relations agency. This new activity took all my time and I nearly gave up photographing until 2006. But I felt the need of creating again and gave a new turn to my way of taking photographs : I now present personal works. Very often through landscapes in black and white, I want to make people discover a dreamlike world which is sometimes a little melancholy but always intimist and giving great importance to imagination.