Lucas Leglise
fr / jp

Selected Works :

  • 1. The Idea of Photography, 2019
  • 2. International Dark Sky Places, 2021
  • 3. Where Photographs Come to Life, 2021
  • 4. Coffee Machines, 2019
  • 5. Astalift, 2020
  • 6. View from Saint-Énogat Cave, 2020
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    The Idea of Photography
    close up

    The Idea of Photography
    Fresson print, 30x40 cm

    « Like me, the idea behind this discovery first occurred to you in Cagliari. »

    Although Nicéphore Niépce took the very first photograph of history in Saint-Loup-de-Varenne near Chalon-sur-Saône, a letter he wrote to his brother Claude on 16 September 1824 reveals that the idea first occurred to him in Cagliari, Sardinia.

    The photograph here shows a panoramic view of Cagliari at night. It was taken two hundred and twenty-two years after Nicéphore Niépce’s journey to Sardinia.
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    International Dark Sky Places
    Fuji Provia 4x5 sheet film, lightbox, perpex case, 50x60 cm

    Series of photographs taken during the day in places designated as "International Dark Sky Places", then developed in the same place after night has fallen, without a tent or opaque bag, but taking advantage of the particular darkness of the night to turn the world into a darkroom.
    From left to right : Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park, Kozushima Island, Bisei Village.
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    Where Photographs Come to Life
    platinum-palladium print, heliogravure print, 28x35cm each
    Fresson print, baryta print, Cibachrome print, chromogenic print, pigment inkjet print, 40x50cm each
    Series of 7 photographs in which each photograph shows the workshop that made its print, thus presenting 7 places near Paris, France and 7 photographic printing techniques.
    Exhibition view, Regards du Grand Paris, Magasins Généraux
    From left to right then top to bottom : Atelier Filippo, rue de Rochechouart, Paris, platinum-palladium print ; Atelier Fresson, rue de la Montagne-Pavée, Savigny-sur-Orge, Fresson print ; Atelier Héliog, rue Porto-Riche, Meudon, heliogravure print ; Atelier Publimod, rue de Sévigné, Paris, baryta print ; Cadre en Seine Labo, rue Bisson, Paris, Cibachrome print ; Diamantino Labo Photo, rue Jules-Ferry, Bagnolet, chromogenic print ; Processus, rue de la Roquette, Paris, pigment inkjet print.
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    Coffee Machines
    Ars-imago Direct Positive Paper, 4x5″ each

    A series of photographs of coffee machines. The Caffenol process, an alternative photographic development process based on coffee and invented in 1995 at the University of Rochester, was used to develop these photos with the machines’ own coffees.

    The photographs are unique images. They were taken on black-and-white direct positive paper with a 4x5 view camera.
    Exhibition view, Jeune Création, Fondation Fiminco
    From left to right then top to bottom : Aeropress, Melitta, Jeneba, Bialetti Moka Express, Hario Slow Drip, Cona new model D, Bodum French Press, Nescafé, Cezve, Handpresso, V60, Hario Cloth Drip, Flair, Disposable Pour-Over, Ilsa Napoletana, Boss Black, Nespresso Magimix, Phin.
    Coffee Machines
    Exhibition view, Espace de Réflexion, Spiral, Japon
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    Astalift
    Lambda print on Fujiflex, 40 x 50 cm

    Since 2007, Fujifilm have been manufacturing a range of cosmetic products whose design was inspired by research carried out by the company on the antioxidants used to preserve the colours of photographs.

    In particular, the development of Astalift’s Jelly Aquarysta, a facial care product, relied on technology employed specifically for the micronisation of a molecule, astaxanthin, in its emulsion form - as used for Fujifilm rolls and photographic papers.

    In this portrait, the surfaces of the model’s skin and of the photographic print relate to each other.

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    View from Saint-Énogat Cave
    Fuji Provia 4x5 sheet film on a light table

    A photograph of the sea, taken from the entrance to Saint-Énogat Cave near Dinard and then developed inside the cave, in a place that was sufficiently dark so that daylight would not interfere with the photographic unveiling process.

    A photographic laboratory was set up in 1877 in this very cave by the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, while they were still teenagers. As the story goes, they became trapped one day when the oncoming sea filled the cave after they had lost track of time. It is at this moment that they promised each other they would work together forever should they manage to get out alive. Subsequently, the first ready-to-use dry photographic plates were marketed under both of their names in 1881. So was Autochrome, an early colour photography process, in 1893.

    View from Saint-Énogat Cave
    Print for an installation in France's Ministry of Culture ( 2020 )