Dominique Issermann, legend of photography and pioneer of visual arts in France, is the guest of honor at the 15th edition of the Planches Contact Festival. On the beach of Deauville, it presents until January 5, 2025 a major exhibition entitled LEVEL ZERO. On this occasion, The Eye of Photography explores with her the unique relationship she has with the Côte Fleurie, as well as her personal and artistic vision of photography.
Have your links with Trouville-sur-Mer helped shape your eye, your light, your universe?
I love working there. The landscapes are barely colored, the Atlantic shadows, the fleeting clouds, the setting sun… Everything pleases me: waiting for the rain to stop, for the sun to cast its shade… The light is so changing, sparkling, it bursts on rocks, roofs, faces. Then in a flash of time, everything becomes gray, soft, wadded. The landscape seems drawn in pen without relief, without shadow. I have always had an appetite for these lights, and this space without grass, without trees. A seasonless space where I can play rain or shine? Trouville undoubtedly taught me patience, optimism, and the joy of successful illusions.
Is capturing the essence of beauty above all a matter of patience?
Yes, patience, but it is not the patience of a stalk or a hideout. It’s patience mixed with abandon, keeping your eye open enough to aim just before the magical moment slips away without a sound.
How do you manage to bring out deep and authentic emotion in a staged portrait?
Do you find that directing is less moving than life? That the setup compromises spontaneity and innocence? You would be surprised by the density of emotions that surface in the patient work of setting up…
What is the most unexpected photograph you have taken?
None, I’ve never had that feeling.
What do you think makes an image timeless?
An image or an object from elsewhere which amazed your great-grandmother and will continue to move your great-grandnephews scattered across the globe, which defies the valiant attacks of fashion, style, multiple selections and incessant, sorting, morals. The image then takes its place on the shelf of humanity and in turn becomes a marker for other timeless things. The showcase of a civilization in short.
Have you taken all the photos you dreamed of?
No, I would have liked to photograph Brigitte Bardot, Marlon Brando, the statues of Easter Island, and the countless creatures that moved me deeply when I saw them… All these apparitions, which disappear like ghosts because I was dreaming and I didn’t get my iPhone out fast enough.
What makes you most proud of your career?
I’m not proud, sometimes happy… and it’s complicated enough as it is! But finally, maybe the next photograph…
An interview with Maïlys Derville
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