Alexandre de Mortemart

Artist Statement

The black and white shot photographs (2016-2019) part of the QUEST project portray humans plunged in their routine, lost in the anonymity of large cities facing the unknown in search of themselves. The characters are looking for solutions and possibly answers to the purpose of their existence. Being lost in the universe, without any understanding but with the desire to find a solution with a sentiment of solitude and anxiety in a rapidly changing world. With the belief that we are entering an era of increasing uncertainty where people are loosing faith and lacking the answers to dealing with a fractured world, the men and women appearing in QUEST are not capable of telling who they are, nor where they come from in a world they hardly understand any longer. The photographs depict in abstract form, a lyrical evocation of humans in the urban environment, emphasising architectural mass and form to depict men and women in the metropolis as virtually empty and searching for the unknown in an uncertain future. QUEST book of photography (160 pages) will be published by DAMIANI Editore in Spring 2020.

Bio

Alexandre de Mortemart (b. 1961) started his photography as a photojournalist in France. Travelling around the world from Japan to India across the United States, and Europe, photography has been his mean of expression since the age of 14. His first professional assignment came in the early 80’s for weekly magazines in Japan where he resided for five years. Upon returning to Paris he started collaborations with French newspapers Le Figaro, Liberation, Le Monde, magazines Elle, Vogue, l’Egoiste among others till the mid 90’s when he ventured into cinema and started directing short and documentary movies. Alexandre de Mortemart work has been reviewed and featured by international critique and exhibited in France, Japan, United States, including the Aperture Gallery (New York) and the Galerie Rouge (Paris), amongst others. He was recently awarded the Lensculture Black and White prize and now lives between London, Calcutta and Paris. His work has been influenced by Andre Kertesz, Bill Brandt and Aaron Siskind.