For over four decades, photographer Pierre Commoy, 70, and painter Gilles Blanchard, 67, have been developing hybrid, four-hand images that are half-photo and half-painting, and have today established themselves in the history of Western portraiture. At the crossroads of reality and fantasy, their extravagantly-staged works are nourished by multiple references from Greek mythology and religious idols to baroque art and Hindu iconography. After Pierre photographs his subject, the photo is digitally printed on canvas before Gilles embellishes it by applying real paint to canvas. I discuss with Pierre and Gilles their creative process and inspirations.
Bonjour Pierre et Gilles, 2020, ink-jet photograph printed on canvas and painted, 64 1/8 x 44 7/8 ... [+]
What was your experience of confinement during the Covid-19 pandemic?
For us, confinement has not really changed our daily lives because we work from home. We had a photoshoot just before, so we worked on it while under lockdown. Then we were a little blocked because the other models could not come to visit us. So we decided to do a self-portrait. We already had this project in mind for a while, so we took advantage of this particular period to achieve it.
Tell me about your sources of inspiration. Why do you refer to classical art, Greek mythology, religious iconography and other artists such as Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, Bernard Buffet or Rembrandt?
Generally speaking, we are very fond of ancient and modern art. We like to discover new references: the artists we liked young are not necessarily the ones we like today. We find new references in books or on the Internet. When we work, we don’t necessarily think of classical masters in particular. For example, with Bonjour Pierre et Gilles, we worked on a self-portrait, which made us think of a work by Gustave Courbet, Bonjour Monsieur Courbet. But the inspiration is quite natural, not exactly sought after. For us, what is beautiful in art is what eludes us – we’re not looking to highlight specific allusions. We also like what isn’t calculated or obvious.
Describe your studio in Pré-Saint-Gervais. Why do you choose to live and work in the same place?
We have always in worked this way at home. When we moved in together, we were in a small apartment, so our photos there were very cropped, due to the limited space we had available. Then we moved to Bastille; the place was bigger, but we couldn’t do full-length portraits. We stayed there for eight years, and there we started to develop sets. Finally, we came to Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, where we have more space, but we really need it to store the objects that we use for the decors, the photo equipment and the painting materials, for the photo and painting workshops. Our work takes up space.
La Pêche Miraculeuse (Pierre and Filip), 2019, ink-jet photograph printed on canvas and painted, 50 ... [+]
For your recent exhibition, Motionless Wanderings, at Galerie Templon in Paris, you created fantastical scenes from garbage collected on the beaches of Le Havre. Is the protection of the environment and the oceans a subject that is increasingly important to you?
We are both originally from seaside towns and ports, so we grew up near the ocean. It’s a universe that inspires us. We worked on portraits that depicted sailors and castaways in the 1980s. For Galerie Templon, we therefore collected old ropes, nets and plastic objects on the beaches. It may seem surprising, but we have always liked plastic – we find it beautiful. We gather it from behind the cliffs of beaches like picking flowers, for fun. We keep it in stock in our atelier. We also buy plastic objects for our sets. For us, it’s possible to discover the world through cheap junk.
