brilliant 30: Artist Noémie Goudal

Surreal landscapes between the Real and the Virtual

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Q. What can you tell us about your most recent work?

A. Between 2013 and 2014, I worked on the <Observatoires> Series. This series was inspired by 19th century observatories in India, built to study the night skies, the stars, and the distance between the heavenly bodies. I photographed the parts of buildings, printed them on sheets of A3 paper, and used adhesive to attach them to cardboard. This completely flat cardboard structure is then cut to a height of about 1.5 meters, resembling the shape of the building. It is then half-submerged in water and captured through photography. At the moment I am working on the <Towers> Series. It is a continuation of the Observatory idea; I used photos of different buildings and used them to compose a single structure. The collage technique and photograph of the printed collage is in line with my earlier works, but now they appear taller and reach higher into the sky than the buildings I originally photographed. My works-the structures that I built-point directly at the sky, as the observatories-their inspiration-were meant to observe heavenly bodies.

Q. Large-format photography is your main medium. Why photography, and why this scale?

A. Photography is a tool I have been using for many years; it's the medium I feel most comfortable with for expressing my thoughts. Through photography, I have traveled to many places and encountered many beautiful scenes. The dimensions of my work are generally 2.0 by 1.7 meters. The reason is that I want viewers to experience the image, to immerse himself. Without such size, it would be difficult for the viewer to project themselves into the photo. Larger photographs also allow for more realism and structural detail to be visible, allowing the viewer to truly witness how it is made.

My images are of existing objects, but they are semi-artificial spaces. My intention is for viewers to complete the work themselves by interpreting the empty spaces based on what they know and how they feel about it. – Noémie Goudal -

Q. Only the final results are presented in the show as photography. What are your reasons for that choice, and what are your priorities in configuring the exhibition space?

A. I present only the "completed work"-the photographs-for public exhibition. It is actually the entire process of production that interests me, from the long hours of research and numerous trials-and-errors in forming the structure to composing the frame, taking the photos, and so on. It is ultimately the viewer's thoughts and interpretation of the final outcome that is important. However, I like to leave hints in the frame that tell observant viewers whether the landscape is the sea or a collapsed building. But the hints do not reveal exact information about the time or location of the photographs. My images are of existing objects, but they are semi-artificial spaces. My intention is for viewers to complete the work themselves by interpreting the empty spaces based on what they know and how they feel about it. When I plan my exhibition space, there is no preference for one image over another. Rather, my interest is focused on the combination of the images and the experience of the viewers in the exhibition hall; specifically, the first work that greets them and the path they take between the works are important considerations. The lighting in the exhibition space, the walls, images, architectural factors, and people are all considered equally in composing the display.

Q. What inspires your work?

A. It starts in the library with books full of images and words. It has broadened the scope of my imagination and inspired many different ideas. In the early stages of my research, I post images on my studio walls and gather them into folders that I return to frequently. The forms and issues found in the images inspire me. Traveling also inspires me; novel encounters with landscapes and gaining new insights into foreign cultures can be a source of creative energy. For example, simply watching the landscape passing by through the window of a speeding train can lead to interesting thoughts. Problem-solving, reconsidering former thoughts, and recombining fragments of thought into imagery have also helped me generate ideas. Based on these sources of inspiration, I install recomposed scenes to create new perspectives. Through this process, I discover myself positioned somewhere between the artificial and the natural.

Q. What completes your art and your life, and gives them brilliance?

A. I would have to say that studying has had the greatest impact. After Central Saint Martins, I stayed in London and went to the Royal College of Art. Those years to me were very meaningful to me. They taught me how to look, especially in terms of perceiving from new perspectives and a more psychological place. A meeting in Paris in 2013 with my current team, in particular Cécile Nédélec, has significantly affected me. She oversees the administrative aspect of the studio as well as production and exhibition planning. Over the past 9 months we have had 3 solo exhibitions, worked on photography for upcoming works, and created several large-scale works for exhibitions. Working with great people and moving into a new studio to scale up my project have both been important to me. A combination of unexpected events have come together magically in my works and made them brilliant. (I do think that fruitful coincidences often happen because the right conditions were in place.) As I already mentioned, traveling is a large part of my life and art, and gives me the strength to do new things. When I travel I try to break away from work and focus my time on sharing with fellow artists, friends, and family. With pleasure and joy in my mind, I can once again focus on other work.

Observatoire III. 2013

Lambda Print on Baryta Paper. 150 x 120 cm. (Courtesy Edel Assanti / Galerie Les filles du calvaire.)
Observatoire VI. 2013

Lambda Print on Baryta Paper. 150 x 120 cm. (Courtesy Edel Assanti / Galerie Les filles du calvaire.)
In Search of the First Line III. 2014

C-Print. 168 x 225 cm. (Courtesy Edel Assanti / Galerie Les filles du calvaire.)
In Search of the First Line IV. 2014

C-Print. 168 x 204 cm. (Courtesy Edel Assanti / Galerie Les filles du calvaire.)
Station II. 2015

C-Print. 168 x 223 cm. (Courtesy Edel Assanti / Galerie Les filles du calvaire.)
Station VI. 2015

C-Print. 168 x 214 cm. (Courtesy Edel Assanti / Galerie Les filles du calvaire.)

Profile

French installation-based landscape photographer Noémie Goudal moved to London when she was 19; she earned her BA in graphic design at Central Saint Martins in 2007 and graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2010 with an MA in Photography. Her work captures surreal spaces between the real and imaginative, exploring photography through dialectical imagery. The fictive spaces in her works are created using materials commonly found in daily life. Her work features in many distinguished art collections, including those of the Saatchi Gallery in London, Foam Photography Museum in Amsterdam, and Kiran Nadar Museum in New Delhi.

■ Selected Solo Exhibitions
<Cinquième Corps> (Le BAL, Paris, France, 2016)
<Southern Light Stations> (The Photographers’ Gallery, London, United Kingdom 2015)
<The Geometrical Determination of the Sunrise> (FOAM, Amsterdam, 2015/The New Art Gallery Walsall, United Kingdom 2014)
<Les Amants> (Hotshoe Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 2010)

■ Selected Group Exhibitions
<Vita Vitale> (The Azerbaidjan Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 2015)
<Fotofestival Knokke-Heist> (Knokke Heist, Belgium, 2013)
<Out of Focus: Photography> (Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 2012)

Introduction to <brilliant 30>, leading you to 30 inspirations of young artist

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