Who is Alain Guillemaud ?
Born in 1961, Alain Guillemaud lives in Lyon, where he began practising photography in 1985. A freelance photographer since 1987, he works for companies, advertising agencies, institutions and artists.
He specialises in reportage, portraits and creative visuals. Passionate about alternative techniques, he works alongside commissions on personal projects using Polaroid film. For his creations, he explores all the possibilities of instant film, and his research was rewarded in 2002 with the Polaroid International Grand Prize and the 1st European prize in the personal research category. Following these awards, the American company entrusted him for a few days with one of the rare examples of the large Polaroid camera to produce a series of 50X60 cm snapshots.
In 2013, the ANPA awarded him 2nd prize in ‘The Art Day 3’ art competition. Now determined to devote most of his time to his creations, exhibitions and creative workshops, without abandoning digital technology, he is continuing his artistic research with instant films and alternative processes.
“Blue and other peregrinations” (Bleu et autres pérégrinations)
The artist tells us about his project:
“Travelling, in Lyon between professional commissions, I take out my Polaroid cameras in search of emotion, I photograph while fleeing reality, I transform and reinvent places, seeking or inventing a story for them.
Sometimes a photographic accident takes my picture into another dimension. Far from being documentary or real, my images often resemble paintings. I’m fascinated by monochromes and by the colour blue, which can be used in an infinite number of ways; blue is the deepest and most immaterial colour. Sometimes I resign myself to using other colours to soothe the eyes, but the impact of this colour on the mind charges me with energy for new journeys.
I regularly use digital photography for my professional work. It’s the ideal tool for today’s world, fast, accurate and easy to use. But what a pleasure it is from time to time to work in film, to take a break in this increasingly fast-paced world and rediscover that analogue material that is sometimes unpredictable but certainly more complex and sensory.”
Site internet d’Alain Guillemaud
From 17 October to 4 November 2023 at the Galerie l’Alcôve, Alain Guillemaud will be sharing his passion for film photography with us in his exhibition “Polaroïd”.