Shadow by Fred Nogier

The "Shadow" project was born purely by coincidence, when I observed the projection of my shadow on a sunbed. I started playing with it and over the last 5 years I've never stopped. I stage my shadow in 'Happenings' during long walks through the town's theatre. To do this I have to play several roles, director, actor and photographer. The director comes up with the idea and builds the story, the actor acts, mimics and shows his sense of improvisation, while the photographer captures the scene at a precise moment, taking care of the composition of the image. It's an interesting gymnastic that I like to impose on myself. It's a game that takes place at random in the streets, with objects that become accessories, the sun and its ever-changing light, colours and shapes, and the passage of time that affects the atmosphere of the moment. There are no creative limits in this project. The shadow is free to interact with any kind of encounter and can change its meaning at any moment. Sometimes surreal, sometimes absurd, sometimes pointed, these little scenes transform the banality of everyday life by magnifying it and making it visible from a different angle. There's also a 'Fluxus' side to this approach, creating, without artifice, with what surrounds us, upsetting what is established. In my images there is also the idea of the person outside the frame (the actor) who projects himself from the bottom to the top, which could also be seen as the viewer.