miradors

Towering sentinels that seem to watch and survey passersby. Pruned trees transformed into watchtowers and lookout posts, standing here and there along the streets. The light is soft, the leaves sparse. An urban poetry takes shape through original creations. It all begins with the chance encounter between a gardener and a flying saucer, followed by a tree casting on Street View. Erwan Fichou selects his subjects and settings, then inserts models into them. Mexico City, in its excess, a true “human beast,” is also a place where the artist finds a playground to his liking. These islands of greenery spark the imagination and invite escape. A breath of fresh air, a peaceful interlude within this megacity in constant turmoil. The project was, in his words, “chaotic” due to its unforeseen events and missed appointments with gardeners, models, or passersby invited to climb, as well as unexpected encounters with local law enforcement. Ordered chaos. The city is a space of control where nature is shaped and structured by humans who appropriate the space. The photographer emphasizes the biological aspect of this territory. His work is not merely artistic ; it is part of a broader reflection. Urban space is not simply a backdrop. As Erwan Fichou points out, “it catalyzes desires, ideas, thoughts, and even practices that have an irrevocably social and political resonance.” Ultimately, it is not the act of photography that matters, but rather the image’s ability to elicit reactions. Reactions shaped by lived experience, a system of representations unique to each individual, which causes each of us to project a framework—and above all, boundaries—around the work, thereby constructing a reality that can legitimately be described as intimate. “Our contemporary sensibility predisposes us to prophecy rather than history ; we live in a world of images that precede reality; we do not seek vision, but rather the déjà vu.” Cécile Lapouge.

1- Joan Fontcuberta, Le Baiser de Judas, Acte Sud, 2005