Interview: Marie Le Gall
JUNE 2022 ● INTERVIEWS
Alright, let's get goin'! How did you first fall in love with photography? What got you started there?
I started digital photography when I was in acting school in Paris. To graduate, I had to stage a play or create a project on my own. Being passionate about multimedia theater, I decided to make an immersive installation and an exhibition exploring the impact that digital has on our sexuality and bodies. I started nude photography and projected images that represented clichés on bodies. So, I fell in love with photography because it allowed me to express my thoughts, my sensitivity, and myself in a way that theater could not fulfill at that time. Then, I went to La Sorbonne University in Paris to study art, media, and journalism. I joined the photography society, which allowed me to learn various technical processes and the work of other photographers, including Raymon Depardon and Alec Soth. I was selected to participate in a ten-day workshop at one of the main Photography festivals named Promenades Photographiques. It ended with a group exhibit.
Okay. So when did you start transitioning into film?
I went to Belarus to photograph the feeling of transitioning Minsk has through the architecture and the landscape. I met artists from the underground scene who showed their art openly and fought against censorship during my stay. I met my ex, who is a photographer, and he bought me my first (film) camera, advising me to switch just in order to have another kind of temporality with people. And I needed another perspective on photography. So I followed his advice and never stopped. I only shoot film now.
What is it about the characteristics of film that makes it so much more special to you?
When I started with digital, I was shooting a lot. So I was really looking for a perfect image, something that actually matched my idea of a picture. And with film, I kind of lose the control digital can offer. I was pretty much more in the present moment. And when I was meeting with people, I was definitely more connected with them than I had been with digital because I was more focused on the photograph itself (with digital). With film, it's more about motion with the moment and the atmosphere- you can focus on something that is more emotional and sensitive.
Analog photography allowed me to search and work with organic matter, textures, skins, and human and natural forms in the most authentic way. The film is an organic material I can touch and visualize. It gives photography another layer. Another layer of texture, a layer of experience, a layer of emotion that sparks my interest. When I take photographs, it is as if my eyes, my vision, and the texture of my fingers are going inside the camera. The result is what we see: fine grain and imperfections. And these define authenticity and intimacy. It feels natural. I was also falling in love with the work of a French photographer, Raymond Depardon, on whom I did my master thesis. He was mostly involved with landscape photography, but he also created photo journals during part of his life. And he wrote books talking about analog photography and how it welcomes you to be patient and accept failures and imperfections. And it's much more emotional.
Do you think the imperfections of film are part of what draws you toward using film?
Yeah, I think so- definitely. Even though I feel like I'm back to a certain form of photography that is pretty clean, I'm trying to lose control again- like when I started.
Gotcha. Yeah, I've always said that I'm drawn to film because of the imperfections and because it's more representative of true life. Do you have any favorite film stocks that you use? With those film stocks, how do you use them to convey whatever it is you're to say through the photograph?
Paradoxically, I've been shooting a lot of Portra 400 or Portra 800, a film that is not that grainy, not that imperfect. With Portra, some shots could look digital because the grain is really thin. But I find it interesting because if you just include something, like an element of texture or organic material in the composition, it preserves the skin texture, like the body's imperfection, without excessive grain. I think this balance between using a film that allows you to have this kind of soft grain is interesting to show more authenticity.
And we talked about the texture right before we started. Do you want to expand on that? How does texture play a role in your photography?
When I really started film photography, I did some portrait work, but I was mostly attracted to landscapes and nature. In California, for instance, I shot landscapes and focused on the textures of rocks or salt or sands. At the time, I was not really drawn to photographing people, but I was more so documenting my travels or what I was living. So right now, I try to incorporate these elements of how I started and this kind of photography into my project with women in nude photography. So I'm combining my two essentials in photography: nature and body.
So much of your work, or at least what you've posted on Instagram lately, has been centered around what you're talking about. What would you say is the overall meaning or message you're trying to convey through these images?
Since October, I've been working on a photo book project about the feeling of home in women's bodies. When I broke up with my ex, it kind of shook up my perspective of home and the perception of, you know, being somebody. I had been so devoted to that relationship, and I considered that person my home and my refuge. So when it all ended, I wanted to question women about their perception of home. I have also moved around during my childhood every two or three years, which also impacted the meaning of home for me. So that's a project I've been mostly posting about on Instagram, which is women in the house or in nature, in places that they feel at home. I photograph them naked in their environments. As for the message itself, obviously, in a perfect world, I would like to destigmatize the topics surrounding naked bodies. But I feel like I just want to tell the stories. I just want to convey people's stories. To me, a naked body is the most natural way of being, you know? There is nothing- there is no filter, and there are no clothes that can make it beautiful. It's just you and yourself.
Well, you just answered my next question. I was going to ask why it's so important that the subjects are nude and why that's such a crucial element in the images, but you just addressed that.
Yeah, I mean, skin and body, or naked bodies, are imperfect. Our bodies are full of imperfections. So photographing that to me is really important. It's all about our skin or just bearing our experiences of life. Like, you know, I'm 27, and in 10 years, I will still bear the experiences I've been living during this year at 27. So I'm going to have this skin my entire life. And I had this skin when I was younger. I appreciate the process of photographing your past, your present, and your future because what you have will never change, you know? Unless you do something like some surgery.
Many of the subjects in your photographs are in very unique and interesting positions. Is that intentional? How do you go into a shoot? How do you get comfortable with the model?
I never prepare prior to a shoot. I'm not preparing a board. During the shoot, I'll be sweating, I have some sort of physical excitement, and at that moment, I can envision what I want. Sometimes the person feels more comfortable having direction. And I enjoy giving them advice then. Sometimes the person is really fluid with their body, and everything just kind of happens in the moment. You know, I propose something, or they propose something, and I'm like, "Oh yeah, that's awesome!" Then I take the picture. And I'm not really working with professional models, so I think getting comfortable naked in front of somebody you barely know is very impressive.
Do you think working with amateur models or everyday people adds to the whole message? Does it add another element of realism?
Absolutely. And I spend time with these people every time and often travel to their place. So I'll stay for a weekend or three days, and I will remain friends with most of them. Really, I think this is my only ambition when I'm taking pictures of women. It's really to create a bond and isn't just like a one-shot type of deal where I take the photographs home, and that's it. I love to have conversations with them. I try to really entertain the bond that has been formed during the shoot or during the three days that I spend with them.
Going back to the theme of home and all of the shoots you've done for this project, what have you learned most about these men or women?
A lot of things! It's funny because when I started this project, most of the women I met were going through a breakup as well or something like that. They were questioning things in their personal lives and the concept of home, or just like, you know, their identities. So during the process, I met people like me who were searching for themselves and ways of being happy and comfortable with respect to being in a good relationship with yourself.
So would you say it's been like a way of gaining or regaining confidence?
Absolutely, yes. There was one model I shot, and it was only her second naked shoot. She had been doing photography before a bit as a model, and I remember her saying that it was the first time she actually felt really confident and liked herself in a lot of pictures I took. It was just because it was kind of raw and just her in the moment without makeup or some outfit; she could recognize herself. And that's beautiful and really moving to me to be able to convey an image of them they like and rediscover. It's therapeutic almost.
Let's see. Oh yeah, I wanted to talk about your self-portraits too. How does that differ from when you're shooting other people? Do you take self-portraits often?
Not a lot. I think I started trying them pretty early on, but those were shit, honestly. I didn't know how to take a good picture of myself. So I'm trying to get into that more because I find it interesting. I've been modeling in front of photographers, but photographing yourself alone is- I felt weird or worried about the whole "narcissistic" aspect. I'm still learning a lot of things about myself. I think I'm drawn to lights or moments. So currently, I'm trying to photograph myself when I'm having a rough time or when there is good lighting in my apartment.
It's just kind of like a spur of the moment type of thing, gotcha. Would you say the sentiment behind your self-portraits is connected to the project about home that you do with other people?
I definitely think it's nourishing that, yeah. I've been trying to photograph my skin as well, or some part of myself that I don't really like. Or I'll just photograph my face. It has also nourished my desire to take pictures of my apartment, where I'm trying to feel at home.
You mentioned that it might feel narcissistic to do self-portraits. How would you argue against that, and how some people might perceive it as seeking validation?
If you take it as an experiment to photograph yourself in some moment of your life that you feel is important, you essentially archive a feeling. It's like creating a souvenir of something you felt. I think it's really interesting to photograph yourself in these moments. And I think it's really positive. It's almost therapeutic for me because I know that I'll be able to look at these pictures and revisit what I was feeling or experiencing from a different perspective in ten years.
So you said you like to shoot when you feel like you're in a dark spot or when you're drawn to light. What emotions are you most drawn to, and why do you want to depict those specifically?
I would say anxiety and dependence. When I feel anxious or dependent on a certain person or a certain situation, I feel like because I'm working on myself about those things, photographing them is cathartic. And yeah, it goes with the fact that I hope one day I will see these pictures and kind of go back to the anxiety I was in and just remember that it was a tough time and know that I'm in a different mindset and have progressed and evolved.
Can you talk a little bit about your exhibition in May?
I've been contacted by this association- it's a non-profit called ImageNation. They've been doing exhibitions in Paris, Milan, and Los Angeles. So they contact different photographers for a group exhibition. They reached out to me in November, proposing an exhibit in Paris. So I've been displaying two pictures of mine, among the work of other photographers. It's super exciting to show my work and be surrounded by lots of my people!
Obviously, you're an artist. But why do you choose photography specifically as your outlet for self-expression, instead of maybe painting, videography, music, or any other type of art?
There is usually someone else in my viewfinder, and even with landscape work, I don't feel alone. I draw and paint, but it's more like being in my own bubble and with myself. With photography, you also need to connect, even though it's not always with someone. With landscape photography, you're going through your lens and giving something to the world because others see it. Or when there is someone in the frame, that's a shared experience. For me, drawing or painting, for example, is more like something where you just put your emotions down. Like I have a painting that I've spent time on in my room, and it's here, but it's for nobody else. It's just for myself and more like alone time. There is this generosity, I think, that you feel in photography. I feel like I'm giving something. As I said, I'm usually sweating during photoshoots, and I feel like I'm giving a lot of energy to the world.
With still photography, do you think an entire story can be told just through one photograph? With movies, for example, it can take hours to tell a story. Do you think that can be accomplished through just one image or a series of photographs?
Absolutely, yeah, I would say just one photograph can tell so much. Photojournalism, for example, proves that in one picture, the entire world can be interested in or moved by one image. The power of photography is to convey many feelings and stories, and I believe in one photo, it's possible. To me, it shows intimacy. In one picture, I tend to show the connection I have with someone or the intimacy I have with the person. So yeah, I definitely believe that photography has this same power that movies have.
So what do you think about censorship overall?
It's shit! Honestly, I really- I don't get it. I've seen so many pornographic accounts on social media or sketchy accounts with many followers and many likes, and there are pictures that are entirely about sexualization. And I have nothing against that, but it's frustrating when Instagram preserves these accounts and instead penalizes my accounts showing bodies in very tender fashions. I don't see my pictures as this solicitation of adult sexualization. I feel like it's pretty unfair. I feel it's an injustice. And that's specific to women, you know? Every time you shoot nude, you expose yourself to being flagged. And even though it's artistic, even though there is nothing about sexuality or pornography, you're at risk of having your work removed.
Do you want to talk about social media in general? I'm just interested in hearing your thoughts on Instagram or whatever medium you might use to publish your work. Things seem to be shifting quite a bit- the algorithm is disrupting things.
I love social media, specifically Instagram. For example, that allowed me to meet you and so many other people recently that I would probably not have met because they're not in Paris. Or maybe they're in France, but we would not cross paths if social media did not exist. So I'm super grateful to have this platform to connect with people and show my work. And I feel, you know, lucky that my account has not been suspended, but I just think it's important to just have a step back and find other ways to show your work. Like Instagram is not the finality of my work. I know that I want to do something bigger than just post on Instagram. It's a diffusion of your work and is a spotlight. You get likes, you gain followers, and you get people seeing your work. But at the same time, I feel more grateful for the interview we're doing right now and for the space for my theories to exist in this magazine than I am for the 300 likes I would get from a picture on Instagram. I think for a photographer to be adequately recognized and progress, they need to actually meet people that give you room in a magazine or an editorial or a gallery. I also felt much more moved by printing my pictures for the exhibition and having conversations with the lab I was doing it with. Printing is seeing your work bigger, and I think that's a way to grow your visual identity.
The love that you deserve- Instagram cannot give it to you. You know? You need to make an effort to be well surrounded and go outside of your phone to meet real people. It's a platform that connects people, but I think we all need to work on crossing the border between social media and real life. I don't believe that because you have a thousand likes, a thousand people actually value your work. I think people value you because they get to know you more. That, and meeting in person, to me, is essential.
When you encounter failures like we all do like with photography, how do you reconcile those experiences?
It's tough. Last summer, I was in Paris shooting a lot of film. A lot of the photos were really grainy or just weren't the style that I like. And some of them were fucked because of the light. I just failed. And it was really, really tough because when you're photographing the moment, you want to remember it the way you lived it. So it's almost like a mourning process. I feel like you have to let go of the shots that are failures in your eyes. Maybe you'll think it was the best shot you ever took one day. But in the moment, you know, it's sad.
So when it's happening, it's obviously kind of crushing. But you try to put a positive spin on it and say that maybe later on down the road, you can revisit the photos. The unexpected outcomes can actually be something good.
Yeah. And again, the moment that you're living is much more important than the photograph itself. I've been taking shots of my mom recently, and I'm putting pressure on myself because that's my mom, and I would love to archive the way she is right now. She's never going to stop getting older. At some point, she will die, and I want to capture her right now. So when the shots don't come out well, I think it's because of the pressure I'm putting on myself. I think if I shoot her just because the moment is light and I don't think about it too much, the results will probably come out like the way I've been living it and not the way I'm expecting to live it.
That's interesting! So you said that living the moment itself is more important than the photograph?
Yeah. At the end of the day, you're going to die, and on your bed, you'll probably remember your photographs. We all leave our footprints somewhere. And I think photography is my footprint. It will be this way probably my entire life. That will be the highlight, but I will probably remember more of what I've been through, what I've lived, and the people that surrounded me. Photography has just been this outlet- a way to capture it all. But it exists without photography. There's no need to photograph things in order to live and remember them.
Marie's Instagram handle is @marielegall.
This interview was featured in Y35 Mag Issue No. 15. To see all of the photographs Marie chose to present, check it out here.