Jean Rigal

I remember the day when I got my first camera ; my godfather offered it to me when I was six. My first film was all used during a school trip to a farm in the north of France; I had set my heart on a nice little goat named “Biquette”. Since that day I never stopped taking photos.

My cameras have evolved and technology too, as well as my technique.

I was lucky enough to be able to travel a lot in Europe, in North Africa, in the United States, in China, in Korea, and even to live in Japan.

My liking for photography refined through my meeting colourful people, grandiose landscapes, villages in ruins, lost young girls, green meadows, aggressive insects, freshly cut flowers, streaming tears…Each of them told me of something beautiful even if its story was sad.

I did not have the courage to take up the artistic course and enter an art school, but I went on my own artistic way, accumulating blurred photos, photos which did not come out or were overexposed, but never giving up because I enjoyed snatching the very instant so much. My private domain growing more and more, I decided to open it and show my photos.

That exposure to the other’s critical eye was a real ordeal, but I learnt how to win over it and to understand that criticism was not bound to be negative and that it was very often constructive, and much easier to appreciate as works are exhibited.

That is why I participate in the present competition, proposing a colourful, out of step and original project.

(Registered at the house of artists since 2013)
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Introduction about my submission

One often hears about the taste of wine, about that pleasure to feel all its flavours appear under our palate, about that mellow fruity bouquet , sometimes peppery or even tangy.

For a change though, I decided to present wine in another way, so that it may not be only that longed-for drink universally coveted for its taste and flavours, to present it as an objet d’art through capturing it the way it is when one takes the time to look at it, to observe it, to admire it from all angles, with all its slightest details.

Its unique beauty is enhanced by its conception with its simple and refined shapes which are generous and atypical too.

Light is the main theme of these photos, strongly underlining its numerous shades, from ruby to honey according to its origin, turning to Japanese red, skimming dragée pink and even chrome yellow.
Each of the ten photos I selected tells us a story, the story of its origin and of its appellation (see the description of each photo).

That visual trip will awake your papillae and take you to well-known regions of France such as Champagne, Burgundy, Alsace, the Bordeaux area and many other ones.

No photo has gone through any form of digital retouch. For me it was very important that the colour restitution work should be done in a natural way, without having to use an image retouch software.
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Je me souviens du jour où j’ai eu mon premier appareil photo; celui-ci m’avait été offert par mon parrain à l’âge de 6 ans. Ma première pellicule fut vidée lors d’une sortie scolaire dans une ferme dans le nord de la France. J’avais jeté mon dévolu sur une jolie petite chèvre du nom de biquette. Et depuis je n’ai jamais cessé de prendre des photos.

Mes appareils ont évolué, la technologie aussi, tout comme ma technique.
J’ai eu la chance de beaucoup voyager en Europe, en Afrique du Nord, aux Etats Unis, en Chine, en Corée… et même de vivre au Japon.
Mon goût pour la photo s’est affiné au cours de mes rencontres avec des personnages hauts en couleurs, des paysages grandioses, des villages en ruine, des jeunes filles perdues, des prairies verdoyantes, des insectes combatifs, des fleurs fraîchement cueillies, des larmes ruisselantes; chacune d’elles me racontait quelque chose de beau même si son histoire était triste.

Je n’ai pas eu le courage d’embrasser la voie artistique en intégrant une école d’art, mais j’ai continué mon chemin artistique de mon côté, en comptant les photos floues, les ratées, les surexposées, sans jamais baisser les bras car je prenais trop de plaisir à saisir l’instant présent. Mon jardin secret devenant de plus en plus important, j’ai décidé de l’ouvrir au grand jour en exposant mes photos.

Cette mise à nu, face à l’oeil critique de l’autre, fut une véritable épreuve. Mais j’ai appris à l’apprivoiser et à comprendre que la critique n’était pas forcément négative et qu’elle était bien souvent constructive; et bien plus facile à apprécier au fur et à mesure que l’on expose ses oeuvres.

C’est pourquoi je participe à ce concours en proposant un projet coloré, décalé et original.

(Inscrit à la maison des artistes depuis 2013)