“Wouldn’t it be super cool to capture all that information before it all melted away?” photographer Laure Winants says to the Phoblographer in an interview — putting into our head so many different ideas. “I used the photogram to be able to imprint in real-time during the drilling, the air bubbles with millions of years of information in it.” By definition, photograms are prints made by laying objects onto photographic paper and exposing them to light. It gets even more intriguing when you realize that Laure made these images in the Arctic to map climate change.
All images by Laure Winants. Used with permission. Some quotes have been edited for better grammatical precision. For more from her, please check out her website and Instagram @___laurewinants.
Laure Winants is behind the fascinating photography project called From a Tongue We Are Losing, which will be on display at FOTO ARSENAL WIEN until June 23, 2024. She joined a team of researchers on a four-month expedition to the Arctic. “When I travel on expeditions, I always bring along sensitive papers that would react to the chemical composition of water, air pollution, or light…,” she tells us. “I have the feeling there is nothing less human than this. I’m working from the elements’ perspectives!” By that, she’s telling the story from the way that the elements see it, and not the way humans shape it.
In this way, we can think of this as seeing the world in a way that isn’t possible by humanity. Laure’s work reminds of us Nicole Struppert’s KENSHO in that way. “I grew up really close to nature where wildlife had a special place, and naturally, more-than-human perspectives were as important,” Laure explains to us. It’s a fascinating perspective, and one that’s starkly different from most of the other work that we’ve seen or showcased on this website.
“I’m trying to crystallize some invisible information and let the matter speak on its own.”
The imagery, in and of itself, it stunning. They’re unlike anything else that we’ve seen before. Many times, we interview photographers who make images based in paintings. However, by using the photogram process, Laure is making photography that isn’t based on any visual mediums as it is. Instead, the images are based literally on what’s available in the world. The patterns remind us of various tye-dye experiments and mimic natural crystal and rock formations. They even sometimes look like the polished insides of seashells if looked at from just the right angle.
Laure’s work is a fascinating and intriguing study on how nature mimics itself.
AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT
The Phoblographer works with human photographers to verify that they’ve actually created their work through shoots. These are done by providing us assets such as BTS captures, screenshots of post-production, extra photos from the shoot, etc. We do this to help our readers realize that this is authentically human work. Here’s what this photographer provided for us.