Biographie
Christelle Boulé (1984*) is a Swiss-Canadian artist and photographer. She holds a Master's degree in Photography from the prestigious Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL) in Switzerland.
Christelle focuses primarily on experimental photography with a strong interest in the visual representation of the olfactory. Inspired by materials and observations to represent the intangible in photography (sounds, smells, emotions), Christelle enjoys finding ways to show the invisible.
Her work has been exhibited in France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and Portugal. Her work has also been published in numerous publications such as Artpresse, GUP and the Financial Times. Some of her work has been awarded in competitions such as the Kassel Book Award 2020, the Photoforum Grand Prix 2019 and the PDN Photo Annual 2017.
In 2020, Christelle did a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in the studio of the State of Vaud (Switzerland).
Présentation
The "Botanica" series was inspired by the Jardin des plantes de Montpellier, one of the oldest gardens in Europe. I was fascinated when I heard about their herbarium, a monumental archive of plants, seeds, flowers, petals, some of which are more than 300 years old. This astonishing archive presents multiple treasures of nature, such as rare exotic plants but also species of plants that are now extinct.
I imagined this timeless garden through a series of color photograms that make living elements coexist with those that have disappeared. The elements collected in nature are diverse and varied, I am interested in their colors, shapes, textures, scents. Smaller components such as pollen, pistils, seeds, but also petals, flowers, leaves and branches have been photographed, sometimes alone, sometimes by assembling them in sort of bouquets arranged according to their structures, shades or shapes. Other times, I let the elements macerate on the photo paper to capture their essence.
As a kind of journey between past and present, this timeless garden imagined on photo paper mixes the plants of today and yesterday. It is a true homage that I wish to pay to nature by highlighting the past and present forms of the passing of time.