Fresh off winning first place prize at the Italian Street Photography Festival 2018, "Man Made" is an ongoing series by French photographer Sylvain Biard. Sylvain is a graduate from the School of Photography and Audiovisual EFET in Paris, starting his professional career as a cameraman and freelance editor. These days he says a lot of his time is occupied by personal photographic projects.
On the series Sylvain says, "In an infinite field every single photograph made is a choice that annihilate everything else. Until itʼs done again. When this choice is made one thing remains with the photograph: The matter. From our camera to ourself to the objects and subjects present in the photograph, this collapsed matter made when the photo was taken is man-made. Itʼs the human artifice we all share and Itʼs what I want to suggest as a feeling in this series."
On his photographic vision and working process, "I don’t have any specific way to think about my photography approach because it’s follows and accompanies me naturally. I’m trying to keep it open as much as possible without forcing myself to make photographs. I don’t always go out with the idea of making photographs anymore. Now It’s more about walking, observing and be in touch with the present with a camera in my hand. If the moment gives me something to enjoy I take it for myself. Photography comes second as a tool to keep small daily remnants of memory alive. Lightroom becomes a personal diary filled with photographs grouped as commonplace sentences recounting details of the past: I remember that moment, that day. Sometime from this set comes a more interesting photograph which for me is valuable as a photograph in itself and I choose to share it. I see each photograph as very small precious stone luckily extracted from the mass. More specifically I enjoy selecting them first because of the open meaning of what the subject brings. But photography shouldn’t be a performance so mistakes, coincidences, luck are always welcome. Enjoyable colors are important too, I think a photograph has to be aesthetic first."
Sylvain is a member of the French Photography Collective Fragment and you can see more of his work here and also on Instagram.
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