I began LE SON DES VAGUES NOIRES in 2017. My life had changed a lot: I moved to Spain in 2013, got married and had a son, and my productivity dropped significantly. I was confused about how my work should evolve and how to make sense of myself in this new environment. The project is about my new life here with my family, far from my comfort zone. It’s about shadows, mirrors and reflexion, archives, and food.

To speak of a life, in any way, we have to enter into fiction. First, because a photograph can never capture the whole reality of a life; real life always exceeds even the most elaborate representations. But also, our ability to recognise and accept reality is limited. We prefer to substitute the real for the imaginary.

After introducing onomatopoeias to my previous series, HIKARI, I wanted to create a kind of “in-between place” where the combination of photography and painting could merge yet further. I’ve always been fascinated by manga and anime (Japanese comics and animated movies). Anything can happen in these mediums. They create another world with its own set of rules, quite separate from those governing our day-to-day lives. This reality is completely surreal but, as readers and viewers, we accept it. I’m also fascinated by the fact it’s been manufactured, made intentionally, not captured or found. You can’t just go into the street and take pictures. When it’s a manga or a painting, all those creative decisions have been made.

With the image LA CHUTE, I started digging the hole in October 2017 and after a week or so, I took the photograph. By November, the negative was scanned and ready to work on. I zoomed in to about 500% to draw each blade of grass, getting totally lost in the image. It took me around 2500 hours to complete, but not all images are so time consuming, it depends on the complexity of the drawing/painting.