Hitchcock

One light, sets without actors.

Fragments of stories, of news items. A drop of light to brighten the night, and the symbolism of the places does the rest. The sets are empty, the actors absent; they have vanished, or perhaps they have not arrived yet. Time is blurred: what happened? What is about to happen? No bodies, only hints of presences, close to ghostly. A game of Cluedo has just begun…

The series began in 2011, at the Gobelins school. I was eager to learn studio lighting, and what drew me most was taking the flashes out of the studio, to blend their polished, almost advertising look with reality and its imperfections. With neither people nor money, I started on my own with the only flash I had managed to buy. What can you do with a single light? I was going round in circles, until I discovered that I could create a cinematic, crime-film mood. I also remember a drawing class where we had to draw only the lights, then only the shadows. The result amazed me. So I took the streets of Paris as my subject, and very soon I saw the dramatic potential of that halo of light and of its evil twin, the shadow. I could guide the eye wherever I wanted.

I am something of a lone old bear. I did not want to depend on models, and directing characters put pressure on me. I told myself: I will start with the sets, with one light, and when I am ready, I will add characters. As it turned out, their absence gave the image a tension I liked, and I made it an asset. The absence of light does the same: it leaves the viewer room for freedom, for fantasy. Not everything is said: the viewer becomes an actor and builds their own story. I put the candlestick in the bedroom and leave Colonel Mustard aside. After that, everyone makes their own version.