Magical Realism Nihilism Pole, is, for Benoit Paill茅 (b. 1984) not only an image series, but a 鈥渞evolutionary act鈥 鈥 demonstrating how photography doesn’t, in fact, capture reality, but is an active creator of reality. Here, photography is capable of elevating the most perceivably uninteresting object into something enticing, desirable and ultra-magnified. He notes: 鈥淚t is play: a game for me. Instead of taking photos of a beautiful landscape, I will choose the pole time and again.鈥 The 鈥減ole鈥 鈥 in Paill茅鈥檚 methodology 鈥 is a placeholder for any banal object, from fences and hedges to street lamps, which he transforms through a phantasmic colour scheme. Bright, stark flashes render surreal interpretations of the landscape, which are both hyperreal and vividly idiosyncratic, seeking out the unexpected and the unseen. Paill茅 defines himself as an atypical artist and conscious agitator, living on the road in a camper van whilst shooting projects across the globe.
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Image Credits:
1. Benoit Paill茅, Untitled, Guatemala (2016). Courtesy of the artist.
2. Benoit Paill茅, Tulum, Quintanaroo, Mexico (2016). Courtesy of the artist.
3. Benoit Paill茅, Untitled, Guatemala (2016). Courtesy of the artist.
4. Benoit Paill茅, Lightpole, Tuxtla, Chiapa, Mexico (2016). Courtesy of the artist.
5. Benoit Paill茅, Landscape 1, Sanchristobal, chiapas, Mexico (2016). Courtesy of the artist.
6. Benoit Paill茅, Always There Decor, Tuxtla, Chiapas (2016). Courtesy of the artist.
7. Benoit Paill茅, Volcan sanpedro, Lago atitlan (2017). Courtesy of the artist.
8. Benoit Paill茅, L鈥橝brutissement du faux. Courtesy of the artist.
9. Benoit Paill茅, Untitled, Mexico (2016). Courtesy of the artist.
