Layers - PhMuseum

“Layers” reveals the invisible. Behind every perfect image, photo retouchers perform subtle and patient gestures. Each edit is traced by hand and uncovers the quiet ritual shaping the surface.

This work originates from my years of photography studies, when I specialized in image post-production. During my first internship at a retouching studio, I discovered a world very different from the clichés I had imagined. Far from being cynical or disconnected, the retouchers I worked with led simple, disciplined office lives. Their profession, often seen as a tool for creating unattainable beauty ideals, revealed itself to me as extremely meticulous work, made of repeated, precise, and silent gestures.

Every day, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., they work in front of their screens, using a graphics tablet and stylus, with intense attention to detail. In the bluish light of the monitors, skin, hair, enamel, and other details are patiently shaped.

In Photoshop, a layer is like a transparent sheet placed over another. Each layer can contain a retouch, a drawing, a color, or text, and can be modified, moved, or erased without affecting the others. Digital retouchers work by stacking layers : some correct the skin, others the light, others the colors. The final image results from the sum of these invisible layers, yet each gesture remains isolated and modifiable. By revisiting my own retouch files, I became aware of this accumulation of micro-gestures hidden beneath the surface. With the project Layers, I wanted to give them a tangible existence : each layer is extracted from the digital file and printed on tracing paper, transforming these normally invisible gestures into a delicate, material presence.

This project pays tribute to artisanal work and a quiet, discreet daily life. It is not so much about questioning the ethics of retouching as about highlighting its poetry: invisible, patient, and repeated gestures, performed without ego, that shape bodies and images. With the rise of AI, many wonder whether traditional retouching will fade away or undergo a radical transformation.