whitehot | October 2007, Interview with Brigitte Henry
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| Brigitte Henry, from the series: Waterproof, color photograph |
INTERVIEW WITH BRIGITTE HENRY:
Tell me a bit about yourself, where are you from?
I come from a small town outside of Montreal in the Laurentians called Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines. I moved to Montreal when I was sixteen to study photography but was refused and studied art … and then transferred to photography again afterwards. I knew when I was fifteen that I wanted to study photography for one reason: I love to paint but it took too long to arrive at the image I wanted. So when I discovered photography in high school I fell in love with it!
How/why did you first taking photos?
There are actually three parts for this answer. First it started when I was eight--my uncle gave me a small automatic camera. I recently found the pictures I had taken with it actually… pretty funny…my childhood friends who used to dress up so I could take their pictures. I’d make different scenes like a small fake prison and put them inside. The second memory I have was when I was 12 –my friend was enrolled in air cadet school and told me that the next weekend he would be flying a plane. I was so excited that I immediately decided I would go with him, but of course discovered quickly thereafter that that would be impossible (the requirement was having trained for one year in cadet school), so I joined the cadets (which if course I didn’t end up liking at all), and somehow ended up taking photo courses with them. For almost a year I was taught and really enjoyed it until one day they wanted to teach me how to shoot a gun! I said no. And quit. Pretty good for a twelve year old now that I think about it. Anyways the third thing was that in high school when I was about fifteen I took a section in photography that part of the communication program, and this weirdo teacher saw that I was really interested in it and gave me an extra set of keys to the lab. I would spend the rest of those years in the dark room skipping math class.
Do you feel like you’ve evolved from those first pictures?
For sure I’ve discovered a lot since I began. Even in the period since I completed the Waterproof series up until now. But still for me photography is just a medium that can translate what I have in my head and I guess that’s evolving into me translating whats going on into film, and installation pieces, etc., not just photography anymore. More mixed media. And I guess part of that is that my work is going more now towards constructing things with my hands and then photographing them or filming them. Its just a natural progression I think.
What are you doing in Europe?
I left Montréal to go to Central America to travel. I needed a break after a few years of non-stop work in music video clips. I needed to get out to get some time for myself ... some new inspiration. After that I went to New York to work in this crazy hotel that invited artists to redo a room—the Carlton Arms Hotel.
So I worked and lived for three months in that room and that really gave me I great place for my mind to rest and rearrange myself. I had done a room there ten years ago so it was a great feeling to come back and crazy enough the same people that work there are still there so it was like a big family reunion too. Then after that I was invited to a festival in to project videos on a sail boat with Christelle Franca who I had previously collaborated on project with for Soundscape. From there I traveled on to and then to and finally ending in Paris to work. Looks like I’m going to next! These have definitely been some lucky and inspiring years.
What is your favorite thing about Montreal?
The four seasons. I like that every season gives you a different place and time. For example winter ...people will tell you the winter is so bad, but I love it. For me it is a time to hibernate and you go out just when you need to (when it’s –40C think about going to have a drink with friends). So the rest of the time you really concentrate on your work and then spring comes and it explodes --like a new city is born again. I guess you almost feel like you’re traveling and you get a new thing out of every season.
How does where your location, or the city you live in, influence your art?
Well I guess every place brings you something new. I’ve lived in Montréal for a long time but always travel at least two months every year. I can’t stand still long my brain needs to see and learn different things-- no matter where I am. I always try to combine work and travel because it’s very rare that I can go some place just to chill.
The images from Waterproof seem to have roots in the paintings of Boticelli, could you talk about influences for the project?
Like I said before I always like to paint but was not very good at it… actually I think the Waterproof project accidentally defined how I take pictures--the low light in the pool forced me to use high stock film and slow speed. The idea to use paintings in the background under water (they were specially made by Patrick Bertachez for every photo) gave the impression of painting more than photography. And I can say the techniques and the aesthetic I like take place in realm of painting more than photography. Now I try to translate that realm a bit.
Do you have a favorite photographer or artist that you admire and/or draw inspiration from?
I’ve always loved Sandy Skoglund’s work. When I was sixteen my sister gave me a photo magazine with her pictures in it and to this day there is not one other photographer that I like better.
Who’s pool do you use for the shots?
I used many but mainly I was teaching photography at that time for the city of Montréal so I had access to public pools all around town. The main one I used was a pool in the east side of town called Bains Quintal-- mainly because it had a lot of windows so I could use natural light. I did my exhibition/launch of the book also at Bains Schubert where I had half of the photos actually under water so that people had to go in the water to see them, it was pretty fantastic to watch.
Who are your models?
Mostly friends and people I found by accident. I like having people I know when I take a picture...I let them be and wait for the right moment to click. Usually I’ll meet them first for a coffee to explain the project in hopes of putting them at ease. Also there was one important factor for both Waterproof and Gravity Zero ...they had to be quite agile in water or on a trampoline. It’s easier when you know the person-- you can push their limits a little.
How do you feel about self-portraiture? Do you see yourself in your photographs? Do you take photographs of yourself?
Yes sometimes. In Gravity Zero there is actually one of me …if you look closely you can see the long wire in my hand that makes the camera click from a distance. The inspiration for that picture and that project in general was based on dreams I had about people flying. I tried to recreate them.
You also work with musicians. Do you listen to music while you work? How do you combine the two?
Yes my work was always influenced by music—that’s how waterproof started. I met Patrick Watson just at the beginning of Waterproof--actually I met him two week after getting a grant for that project. We told each other that we worked the same way. I listen to a lot of music to create stories and he creates music by looking at images…so it clicked…and we still work together after 8 years.
What’s your worst habit?
To always dress too warmly when it’s hot and vice versa!
Favorite memory from the past year?
The time in New York when I was really broke …had twenty dollars left…and one morning I was walking down the street and found two huge books in the garbage. I thought they would be good for my installation in the hotel, then I realized they where actually old maps of new York from 1929! So I thought maybe I could sell them on ebay for fifty dollars-- felt like I had no choice. It turned out they were worth a lot more… I sold them for a thousand bucks. Made my day!
Thanks for your time, Brigitte.
For more information go to http://www.brigitte-henry.com or Waterproof9.com
Interview by Sam Mirlesse, a freelance writer/photographer currently living in Montreal.
