AURELIEN VILLETTE

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The poet of vestiges

"Architecture marks all of our lives, our lifestyle, beliefs and cultures, from our birth to our death and beyond. All of this variety leaves me awestruck, every day"

AURELIEN VILLETTE

Photographer Aurélien Villette questions the meaning and patrimonial value of ancient abandoned buildings. While the latter represent an era in architectural history, they also bear witness to the specific history of a country, a region or a civilisation. The remains left in these sites are the chronological markers of an era. Ruins become both objects of contemplation and meditation. ... See more See less

Interview

What is your proudest artistic moment?

That’s a tough question. Proving oneself through one’s work is complex, because often things emerge from our own desires and personality, in our personal life. So perhaps now, affirming my ideas more is something I’m proud of, because selling myself has never been my strongest suit.

How would you describe your artistic technique?

I try to take the range of colours present within a scene into account. My goal is also to highlight testimonies and the character of what I see, showcasing shifts in colours, transformations exerted over time, and the expert hand of humanity and Mother Nature. Without ever forgetting light. This pictorial aspect is also to recall the Romantic movement.

How does your creative process work? Location scouting, travel, the best moment for shooting, spending the night on location…

This desire for travel reflects the dreamer in me, the wandering side of my life that I try to express through my photographs. Sometimes these places might not seem real, just as my way of experiencing travel seems unreal. The connection between reality and what might not be real fuels my creative energy. As I describe it in Spirit of Place, the interior and environment of the location are just as important and nowadays I try to appropriate these spaces while I’m there. I like this feeling of transition, of passing through, because like the weather, nothing is set in stone. I often sleep on location in a tent and the best moments for my photos are at dawn and dusk. Spending entire days outdoors enables me to get a better feel for the transitions of the days.

Tell us about these photographs with the tents? Do they serve to capture a specific emotion?

I tried to take these photographs several years ago. I think it was in 2011, so already ten years ago. My photographs of tents are sometimes aesthetically pleasing and bear witness to these moments, which over the years have become a whole part of my life. Each night is different: with a foggy sky, or just stars without a moon, or lit up by the lights of the city… When the weather and environment allow it, I keep a memory of this aspect of the places I visit.

Tell us about Plant Archway II, France and/or Plant Archway III, Italy. (Where was the photograph taken? Why did you take it there? Do you have any anecdotes about this place?)

Greenhouses have always been a very beautiful subject in architecture and therefore in photography, by extension. Since the walls must be translucent to create a microclimate, the same goes for the atmosphere and the dialogue between interior and exterior, which aligns with the essence of my approach regarding the spirit of place. Winter gardens, owing to their nobility, often integrate remarkable architectural motifs – glass or wrought ironwork work well there. Finally, let’s not forget my fascination for plants – both those controlled by humans and those that are wild and untamed. I find this duality well represented in greenhouses.

What is your favourite YellowKorner photograph?

I don’t know about a specific photograph, but I already knew Christophe Jacrot’s work and I really like his meteorological atmospheres.

What are your future projects?

With recent events, my projects to travel to remote areas have been postponed. So I’ve been looking at atypical sites and resources within Europe, but that are of course still related to my approach!

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