About Me
"Savoir la vérité n’a jamais servi à grand-chose.
Il faudra bien qu’on s’en aperçoive un beau jour.
Le bonheur est dans l’enchantement et non dans la vérité.
Il ne s’agit pas de savoir ce qu’est la vie et ce qu’est la mort, il s’agit de bien vivre et de bien mourir, et c’est loin d’être l’affaire de la vérité."
​
" Truth was never useful.
We have to realise this one day.
It is no use to know what is life nor what is death, It only matters to know how to live and die well, and it has nothing to do with truth"
​
Jean Giono
​
I am not a photographer. I would say I relate more to a dreamer.
Where do beauty hide?
Saying it is a mathematical harmony is like reducing emotions to hormones. You won't find answers in my images but they a guide in my own exploration and adventures. A good image for me has to respond to all visual senses and follow a story line like the golden thread in a labyrinth. I use music often to create and I would affiliate more with Jazz than classical as I can't seems to conform in structure and compose as I go.
Reality has no attraction for me and that is why photography is only one of the many tools I would use and not an end product. I love layering symbolic images for a maximum storytelling experience, because I find paradox being the ultimate enigma of life itself. Show me where you see good and will find sin as I will see perfection in broken pieces as time has imprinted all the character lacking in the first place.
I utilised all the tools at my disposal to recreate a feeling, a unique experience. An image hold a story, it charms you, it sometimes horrify you, compels you to buy or to imagine another life. It is the ultimate window to a new world.
“Agnes creates images of her own reality that refer to a realm beyond the line between awareness and dream. Using symbolism as a key of her expression, she tells a story saturated with mythology and paganism.
Fascinated by the Italian Renaissance and classical Greek statues she adored the way they pushed the body form to extreme unrealistic excess and postured the portraiture of humanity in total luxuriance. She loves the hidden treasures of the primitive and their false uncomplicated aspects. Searching for contrasts, Durbet-Giono subjects range from the urban and industrial environment to the traditional beauty of the nudes. Her visual language is characterized by flesh and metal, wood and concrete, as well as mineral structures.
Spirited Personality and Famous Roots
​
Agnès Durbet-Giono is a French-born, grand-daughter of Jean Giono, the famous French writer from the middle of the 20th century. Describing her artistic beginnings, the artist confesses her resistance to any formation and qualification since an early age. She was never able to conform to what was expected and teachers were mere shadows who had little influence on her life. She started to take pictures after her introduction to the industrial world where she felt at ease.
In a Quest for Balance between Feminine and Masculinity
​
Sensing the presence while creating in a world haunted by masculinity and virility and after taking pictures of sewages treatment plants, water filtrations system, and factories, she over-imposes their silhouettes. Using two contrasting images to question the overrated perception of what society see as beautiful and ugly, the artist aims to balance feminine and masculinity, writing the love letter in every picture. Not interested in reality or witnessing any beautiful scenery, historical event or political moment, Durbet-Giono’s works are not aggressive or accusing. She uses all mediums in her possession and capacity to translate a feeling, vision and even futile of the magic.
Work with a Strong Message
​
Asserting that each of her exhibitions in Sydney and France were equally important and personal milestones, Durbet-Giono feels the public’s feedback as the crucial aspect of her success. She doesn’t think the reality is what is fed to people by the media
Her message is clear: “Dance with all the demons and angels hidden in all the rays of light and the dark places. Breathe the contrasts and live as you possibly can, love with all this passion that mold us into flesh. Don’t believe global reality at least for short laps of your life, one breath at the time. In changing yourself you can improve way more than you think in this world.”
​
By Suzan Wang
Vision A. Studio is a Visual art portfolio. A is for Agnes Durbet Giono. Photographs, statues, sceneries and animals combined in layers and collage effect. Fine art orders as well as workshop are offered. -