BÉTON 13 Collage

“The image becomes a pictorial device that creates tension” François Pomepui, a fashion, beauty and portrait photographer since 1984, has shot for various magazines and advertising campaigns. In his own personal practice he has developed an original approach to image-making, combing digital manipulation with manual cut out techniques to create innovative collages. Pomepui photographs faces, bodies, animals, buildings - he is always in search of an expression, a quality of light, a movement, a line. His work intrigues: images appear to have been deconstructed then recomposed piece by piece like a puzzle. Using a process similar to panography, François Pomepui adds depth to his compositions, creating juxtapositions between and overlaying the various fragments. He immerses usin a world of bright colours and contrasts, reminiscent of Pop Art, where the blacks could not be blacker and lighter tones verge on the transparent. The geometric shapes, and their various colours, produce an abstract image. It is for the viewer to make out the original portrait or landscape. Sometimes, the collages accompany a movement and the photo seems to burst.