Instead of using a complex set of sentences, I am resorting to this hand-made sketch which in my opinion, synthesizes how I approach creation.  As seen from the « side view », a startled individual stands in front of what looks like total confusion.  I illustrated this state of chaos by drawing multicolored lines interweaving each other without direction or recognizable patterns.  On the left, the « rear view » proposes a potential passage to the puzzled individual ; a path which can lead him to an ultimate destination.  But the two-dimensional nature of this sketched representation hinders any precise judgement on the depth/length of the passage.  So although the individual can see the end point and maybe feel partly reassured by its existence, he still needs to embark on the journey in order to assess the nature of his environment.  And it is by going through this entire process of learning that the individual can eventually share his experience ; whether as wisdom or with an artwork.

Transposing this to my creative process : I am unable to anticipate  what lies at the final output of a project before I start the process.  930 (2004-06) was conceived in such darkness : from the cold and isolating architecture of a train tunnel to the photographic dark room filled with toxic chemicals ; all of which are interspersed with intensive optical printing sessions using a machine almost as old and obsolete as the decaying tunnel itself.  But the making of this film did not begin with a particular embrace of these variables.  I thought I could tame the hostile environment, appropriate and control it in a desire to express an initial straightforward idea...  Instead, it is precisely the precariousnesss  of the environment and these uncontrollable variables that revealed themselves in the work, leaving the tunnel’s arch as the only graphic element that suggests the original subject of representation.

In the final stages of 930, I eliminated the contours of the actual « passage » and focused primarily on the presence of white light hitting both the entrance and the exit of the tunnel.  In Artifices (2007), I suggest shapes of such « passages » by tracing conical patterns with light sources moving within the dark boundaries of highway tunnels.  With Brouillard (2008-…), the evolution along a path is represented more accurately.  The outlines of elements of nature/landscape can be recognized and the soundtrack indicates aural cues to the progression.  In its rawness, I see Brouillard as a « motion picture » sketch that very much expresses the ideas behind fig.1.





In this second drawing, I return to the startled human individual standing at the circular gate of a « funnel-shaped » path ; the same path as described above but without the chaotic line weavings.  I associate the passage through this path with processes inherent to creation.  The colored conical extensions breaking the convergent linearity of the journey illustrate the potentiality of accidents/chance/evolution : the individual can choose to redirect his/her path, providing an openness to change.  Or, mirroring my own creative process, the individual can decide to enrich his journey by investigating each (or some) of these centrifugal avenues while maintaining the original trajectory.

The way in which 930 and Ville Marie (2006-…) follow this analogy differs from one another in terms of how the « raw visual material » was captured.  In the former, because of the nature of the project, my encounter with « accidental events » occured while I was « in motion » along the main trajectory.  Although I implemented spontaneous changes of artistic direction on the spot, the initial destination always remained and these changes were much regulated by an urgency to get out before a train would enter the tunnel.  Whereas in the latter, the multiple building locations I used to execute camera drops provided me with a larger framework to navigate through.  In other words, with Ville Marie, I allowed myself the possibility to switch direction as the project evolved. 

As opposed to Artifices and Brouillard which were both constructed « inside » the camera, 930 and Ville Marie involved further transformation.  The methodology I used to explore formal aspects of the source imagery is similar to my previous projects.  My role shifts from « articulation » to « catalyzation » : I create a space for things to happen and I analyze them in great scrutiny.  I learned, through my engineering background, the basic principles of the « méthode expérimentale » of scientific investigation : trial & error, modeling and repeatability.  In Ville Marie for example, I knew as a starting point that I wanted to fabricate color images from black and white source material : the drop sequences captured in super8mm.  I was also going to use a set of optical tools/techniques of image manipulation I wasn’t familiar with.  I had learned, with 930, that the less I know about a particular « machine » or « process » of cinema, the greater the potential for accidents. Applying the rigor of scientific methodology to such an expressionistic endeavour allows me to ultimately reach a solution : a visual langage that I can assemble into a coherent form.

Alexandre Larose, Montréal, February 2011