Thomas Paquet

Thomas Paquet is a French photographer who masterfully blurs the line between science and art. For fifteen years, Paquet has worked as a commercial photographer. Recently, Paquet decided that he wanted to redefine himself as an artist. Distinguishing himself in such a crowded field was not easy; however, Paquet separated himself by using photography (courtesy of Galerie Magazine) “to convey the essence of light, time, and space.”

Paquet often questions the boundaries of time, (courtesy of the artist’s web site) “the structure of its uninterrupted flow and the dynamics of its movement.” The artwork often breaks down the basics of light, time, space, and photography as a way to expose his audiences to “a sensitive experience of the world.”

With all of his work, Paquet’s photography is straight-forward. He finds it necessary to experiment while conducting his research… as such, new procedures are often implemented. The way forward includes experimentation in optical, chemical, and physical realms.

Paquet often studies color intensely; this has resulted in his own perception of minimalism. As he describes, “If silver gelatin films are often at the heart of his creative process, he also uses alternative techniques such as instant films, wet collodion, cyanotypes and other 19th century techniques.”

Paquet’s experimentation takes place in a laboratory where he coats the paper and applies a varnish in order to “create a visual poetry.” Specifically for his color shade pieces, Paquet created a computer program that “registers a set of color gradients according to the position of the sun, moon, and stars using astronomical calculations.”

Recently, Paquet collaborated with Odile Mir and Léonie Alma Mason for an exhibition that brings together architecture, contemporary art, photography, and design. The exhibition at Galerie Thierry Bigaignon was in celebration of La New Solaria, the world’s largest sundial that was sculpted by Mir in 1993. Mir’s monumental work in the South of France had been drawing visitors to the area for years.

Alma Mason, the 93-year-old artist’s granddaughter, and Mir asked Paquet to visit the original sundial prior to committing to joining the “intergenerational dialogue” with the two of them. The idea was to find new ways to portray the questions behind space, light, and time.

Paquet aptly named this series “Meanwhile the sun goes around.” His photography elegantly captures (courtesy of The Eye Of Photography) “the imprints left by or star, the sun, on photosensitive paper.” The artist’s hand-crafted approach documents both subjectivity and objectivity in a unique way. Kudos!