On a trip across California this winter, our editor Elisa Routa stopped by the Long Beach Museum of Art, currently paying tribute to godfather of surf photography LeRoy Grannis, top surfer in the ’30s, co-founder of International Surfing in 1964 which later became Surfing Magazine.

»Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, American photographer, LeRoy Grannis (b. 1917 – 2011) documented the evolution of surfing from its humble beginnings that grew into a global sport and lifestyle, witnessing first-ha,d its epochal development in the history of American surf culture. Organized by the Long Beach Museum of Art, Cult to Culture: Photographs by LeRoy Grannis explores the artist’s mastery in the medium and his ability to capture iconic images that played a profound role in shaping the world of surfing during its golden age of the 1960s and ’70s.  Shooting images from San Diego to Malibu, California, to Oahu’s North Shore, Hawaii, Grannis frequently travelled to document a migration of Californian surfers venturing across the Pacific to take on giant waves. The exhibition reveals the innovator within as he pushed technological boundaries to capture the free-spirited essence of the evolving sport.«

Behind glass windows of the main room, the visitor is lucky enough to see the lens that legendary photographer LeRoy Grannis used at the time and mainly used in surf photography in the ’60s, better known as the Century lens. There’s a heavy waterproof wooden box, fiberglassed and sealed with rubber built by George Greenough for LeRoy to keep his cameras safe from water, and transport film and lenses on his surfboard.

Photographing the beauty and power of the ocean for over 20 years, LeRoy Grannis captured the generational changes of surfing during its so called Golden Age of the 1960s and ’70s. Similar to iconic shots like »The Malibu Wall« (1966), Grannis captured the spirit of early surf lifestyle of Southern California. The gallery showcases »lifestyle” photography and surfing shots like Midget Farrelly surfing Shore Break Makaha in 1968, Gerry Lopez and Rory Russell in Pipeline, Oahu in 1972, the Duke Contest in Sunset Beach, Greg Noll Surfshop in Hermosa Beach in 1963, San Onofre Parking Lot in 1964, Miki Dora in 1963, Dewey Weber in 1966 or Bob Beadle in Sunset Beach in 1962…

The show “Cult to Culture” at the Long Beach Museum of Art is open to the public until April 21st.

Photos: LeRoy Grannis Courtesy of the Long Beach Art Museum

Photos Long Beach Museum of Art (inside):  Elisa Routa & Angèle Debuire

More infos here.

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Working as a deckhand in Alaska since more than two decades, Corey spent seven years aboard a Bering Sea crabbing vessel. Today, he is the captain of a wild sockeye salmon fishing operation based out of an abandoned cannery complex called Graveyard Point.

Earlier last year, renowned photographer and commercial fisherman by trade Corey Arnold  went to the icy archipelago of Svalbard, meeting those people lucky enough to live at 77° N. From March 21 – April 27, 2019, he will present his latest body of work, entitled »Hornsund«, from his arctic expedition in Svalbard, halfway between Norway and the North pole. His solo exhibition will take place at Charles A. Hartman Fine Art in Portland. 

Words by Corey Arnold: »In 2013, I landed by ship at the Polish Polar Station, an outpost maintained by Polish scientists located on the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in a fjord named Hornsund. At 77˚N latitude, the station is a rare human outpost in the far North, on an island with few year-round inhabitants aside from native polar bears, arctic foxes, and an abundance of tiny reindeer. In early September the sky never grows dark, and I spent long days trekking across chossy valleys and crumbling mountains, exploring the many glaciers that rest and rumble within a 24-hour walk.

Some days I’d join a glaciologist on their mission across vast glacial landscapes to check their field instruments and on other days, I would walk alone hauling a heavy backpack of camera equipment with an old WWII rifle strapped to my back for protection from white bears.«

More infos on Corey Arnold’s website.

Read our interview with Corey Arnold.

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Meeting place for a long list of sailors and sailing amateurs, the 6th edition of the SAIL IN festival took place in Bilbao earlier last month. The occasion for Panthalassa to meet sailing legend Carlo Borlenghi. Building a bridge between sailing and people, Carlo Borlenghi creates a powerful connection with the sea through his lens only.  »I’m not a sailor, not a swimmer but I like to shoot everything about the sea.« Growing up in Lake Como, Italy, Carlo Borlenghi is considered a pioneer in sailing photography today. « My main house is still situated in Lake Como, I feel lucky living near the border where I have a private beach with a small boat. That’s nice place. I also have a small flat in Milan.«

Thanks to his long-time valuable experience and distinct knowledge, the Italian photographer shares with us some pieces of wisdom about the vital need for a photographer to learn to adapt. »I didn’t change my vision and concept too much, I just use the technology to create the shot that was impossible before. It’s good to know exactly how difficult it was before to appreciate how easy is today.« Before going back to his native city by the sea, the 78-year-old world-renowned sailing photographer found time to talk to us about the evolution of sailing photography. »When we first used a drone, it was like putting up a tripod to the sky.« From analog photography to digital, he evokes the end of an era for the magazine industry, the use of social medias in the communication process today and a balanced vision between pioneer skills and the need to use new digital technology to take better photos.

Carlo, let’s start by talking about your collaboration with the SAIL IN festival. When did it start?

They first contacted me 10 years ago. They wanted to meet me but I was pretty busy with America’s Cup at the time. I ended up sending a selection of pictures and they used one of them for the poster of the very first edition of the SAIL IN Festival. We kinda lost contact until this year when Javier Sobrino invited me to join them. I was available and free from work at the studio so here I am today in Bilbao.

How did you work on this selection of pictures?

These photos are a little bit what represent both me and my job. For example, the »Brava« shot with the upside down boat was taken during my very first regatta. Some other pictures represent some good moments of my job, like »The big cloud« taken in Australia. Whenever I go out, I try to get one shot, not just for business but for me. Priority is obviously given to the client but I try to come back home with one single good shot. If I eventually have 4 or 5 different good ones, I’m happy. It’s hard to find good angles. When I go to bed, I think and dream of an angle. It’s easier to shoot when you have a picture in mind. You go out and just wait for the best moment and create the shot you have in mind. The picture is there. Shooting outside is not like shooting in studio where you can just put the light on or move the model as you like. You have to play with nature, with the sea, with the ocean. You never know, it can be flat, it can be huge and full of waves. I’m only scared to miss a picture for technical reason or regarding the focus. I want to stand out among other photographers, making different pictures.

Your shots are not only about people sailing, but there’s some real tragedy in there. Are you looking for stories?

Yes, story first. Now that the magazine industry is done, there’s no room for story. Magazines used to give us like 8 pages to play around one story, but now is different. The approach is different depending on the client and depending on the regatta, but 90% of the time today, I look for the single shot. A good and strong one. Nobody cares about the story on the regatta anymore. For an event like America’s Cup when we can eventually create a book, in this case, yes I look for the story. Otherwise, it’s hard to look for a story by yourself, in the sea, everything is expensive. You need to charter the boat, the helicopter and go to remote places. It costs a lot to reach nice places. For example, I’m planning to go to Australia today to cover the migration of the crabs to one special island, but it’s so expensive to go there and there’re only two flights each week.

Why considering to cover the crabs migration and move out of the sailing field?

Because it’s incredible! The crabs go out from the forest and go to the sea, crossing the village. crawling down the cliff. So the island, the village, the streets and the cliffs suddenly become totally red, moving. It feels alive. I try to do some different and unusual photography. This crab thing could become a series I could sell at Paris Photo or in Italy.

Tell us about the techniques you use…

Today, I’m working only with digital. Digital gives you more chances to do pictures that was impossible to do before. Drone is a good example. When we first started to use things like this, we put the drone up, it was like to get a tripod to the sky. Before you had to shoot from a helicopter, and then it was difficult to find a client that would pay the expenses. then you have to push film up to 2000 ISO to get rid of all the grainy… the quality was not very good. Now with the drone, you go up, you shoot with the long exposure, you put the ISO, you stay there and get the perfect picture.

Are you working in respect of the technological advances?

Yes because there are so many new ideas, new angles and new cameras! For example, we also like using the drone while shooting a boat going full speed. Today, you can follow it. It was impossible before, there was a limit. Today, you can use these new toys to get new angles and new pictures. I didn’t change my vision and concept too much, I just use the technology to create the shot that was impossible before. It’s good to know exactly how difficult it was before to appreciate how easy it’s today. In the past, when you did black & white and when you had a black sky, you had to make a mask at the lab, you had to do it manually, because there was no correct picture, there was no reality, you played with the dark or with the lighting in the face or this kind of things.

You mentioned working with black & white… Tell us more about that.

Yes, I like black and white a lot. The thing is that, when I started to do this job, I used the go around like a street photographer, I wanted to go into the heart of things, move from my country to another one and come back with different stories to tell. In the past, it was easy. I remember being in England to cover a regatta and ended up making a story about Stonehenge. I spent two or three days in Stonehenge in order to see the crazy people there. I shot only black & white, even for the sunsets and sunrises. This was my dream – use sailing as a mean to travel and create other stories. Then the sailing thing became bigger and bigger for me and there was no time left.

What are the few places you like the most for pictures?

One the best places is South Africa. Because in 300 km2, you get everything. You start from the forest with all the animals like lions and giraffes, then you go to Cape Town where you get to see whales and penguins. Then you can go to the desert of Namibia very close. In the center town, you also have some good wine and vineyards. It’s a really nice place. I have never been in a cage but you can go out to see the sharks in the cage. South Africa is nice. I also love Australia, especially for the regatta. It is one of the best places in the world, especially during Sydney Open. For us as photographers, it’s very good for the action part. Sardinia is also good, you can get good pictures there. But sailing changed recently. Now, they don’t do long-distance races anymore. For me, they used to be the best ones, because I could use the light in the night, capture sunrise and this kind of light. Now they start at 12 o’ clock and are back on the dock at 3pm.

Over the years, you became one of the most famous sailing photographer indeed. What’s your relationship with the sea?

I’m not sailor nor a swimmer. The first regatta I made was a nightmare for me I had no idea what was going on. I started to do the regatta at the Lake with a friend who owned a boat. I observed those sailors going different ways and didn’t understand anything. Then later I realized it’s a very intelligent sport, I like the strategy it needs. In one way, I think it’s better for me not being a sailor because I don’t look at the technical things. I’m just out to shoot the aesthetic aspects. My mind is free mind. I realized it quickly. People who go to the photo fair are not sailors. So I’m bridging two worlds.

What do you like shooting the most?

I like to shoot everything about the sea. For many years, I used to cover a windsurf regatta in Maui, Hawaii. At the time, Robby Naish or this kind of surfers were there. You could sell the picture of a surfer at the time, now you cannot. Nobody care about surfing anymore. There is just maybe the big wave in Nazaré, Portugal, if ever you’re lucky to be there in this period. This is the problem. You could go to Maui for yourself and make very good pictures but it doesn’t pay the bills. Now, you have to work for sponsors to survive.

The job of sailing photographer evolved. Would you say your job relies more on sponsors than on print publications today?

Totally. Magazines don’t commission you anymore. The only way to collaborate with magazines is showing behind the scenes shots of the regatta. But you definitely have to work for sponsors to survive. For example, I work for Rolex. As a freelance photographer, it’s quite impossible because you need to chart the helicopter. For a 27-hour helicopter tour, it costs approximately 45K AUS$. Impossible for one single freelance to pay. The good compromise is to do the best you can for the sponsor because the priority remains the client. Then if you have the chance to get some free minutes for you, you can do one picture for you.

What about analog photography?

Nobody want analog photography anymore, especially for commercial projects. Clients want the picture for… yesterday! Today, you need to shoot and sent the shot right away. Everybody became crazy about the bloody Instagram and social things. Social medias go way more faster than magazine. People post pictures quickly because using an iPhone helps you shoot quickly and post it straight away.

As a photographer, do you feel you needed to adapt to this new era of social medias and all-things digital?

It’s just another challenge. I have my Instagram account but I use it for myself. However, sometimes it’s too much. There’re so many posts and so many stories that don’t say anything. They’re just here to fill the space. To me, if there’s no good picture, there’s no reason to post it. But for most people, it you didn’t pos anything, you didn’t exist that day. If you post a rubbish, it remains rubbish. I know I may be wrong because there’s some rubbish that work, but I stay with my concept. I don’t want to publish just for the sake of publishing. I’m not in the rush. When working on regattas, I have two assistants. They often want to publish a picture quickly but I say « wait, wait… » We get our name under the picture and nobody cares, nobody knows there was no wind this day, nobody cares if there was rain, or… forget it. Give space for the other ones. If there are good conditions the day after, we’ll publish a picture. Our picture must be different than the others’.

Do you also make videos?

Just taking photos. I’m not trying to do both but I work with a guy at the studio who’s in charge of the video part. We sometimes do our post-production ourselves as well cause I find digital a bit flat. There’s no depth. During a race, we just work on the contrasts of the pictures and equalize the horizon. In the big sea, it’s not easy to get the balance. Then if we have five or ten good pictures , we can play a little bit more after the regatta. When it comes to printing a sailing picture in limited edition, we look more at the details in order to make it a little bit more accurate. But we don’t change the subject, we just clean up the color a bit. Normally, we just spend one minute for each picture. Otherwise, you’ll not survive.

We, at Panthalassa, are working around projects that take care about the ocean, around themes like sustainability, overfishing, plastic pollution like with the Plastic Family displayed here at the Festival. You spend a lot of time in the ocean, on boats,  did you witness any changes?

Of course, you see some environmental differences. Dirty things are happening. There are a lot of dirty deals in the water, and when you are in the helicopter you can see big ships throwing all kinds of things in the water. They clear out the tank in the open sea. When you do the long distance races, you can witness this kind of things. The only thing I can do is publishing pictures about those things to show the problem but I’m just a tiny guy and it doesn’t work. They do what they want, and it’s a shame. The short film entitled « Albatross » has been one of the first pieces of art able to touch these issues in a beautiful and powerful way. When I see these kind of things, I do want to make a movie. Because it was a really good story. The more I talk to people about pollution, the more I realize people care more than 10 years ago. We destroyed so many things in the past and nobody cared. Now the moment comes to talk about plastic. But for me, cleaning up the beach from the plastic bags is just for aesthetic purposes. You have to civilize and educate people to avoid putting plastic on the beach. If you watch “Albatross”, you realize there’s plastic everywhere, even in the birds. It’s part of the ocean. We eat plastic every day. This is the huge problem. And you cannot solve this problem with a “Save the Ocean!” slogan or by picking up the plastic trash from the beach. We need to educate people again and then the rest will come. Maybe slowly, but it’ll come.

Follow Carlo Borlenghi’s work on his website.

 Sailing Photos: Carlo Borlenghi

Portrait Photo: Xabier Aldazabal / SAIN IN Festival

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Fun fact. Nantes-born photographer Thomas Lodin doesn’t call the ocean, the ocean. « We call it the sea, it’s always been like this. » Thomas discovered surfing thanks to his brother when he was 16. Before that, he was playing around with his BMX bike, dreaming of becoming a pro and traveling the world. « But since I got my very first surfboard, I never stopped. I quitted my graphic arts school a year before getting my diploma and I moved to Biarritz. It was 5 years ago. »

Today, Thomas belongs to the small network of artists whose work and adventure are great to watch and follow. « In Biarritz, life is a bit different everyday. Beyond the simple fact of checking the forecast, planning some photoshoots or photos just for fun, I spend a lot of time behind my screen, never far from my notebook. Treating the images, planning the next shoots with clients depending on our schedule, developping pictures, sending orders and thinking of future ideas. That’s what my weeks are about. » We sat down with French photographer Thomas Lodin to discuss his art, the process that he uses to make it, his shared love for digital and analog photography, his passion for old surfboards, his trips around the world, collaboration with France-based Oxbow brand, and his coming projects like « Impressions », a printed book project gathering a selection of 150 pictures taken along these past years.

Either in the basque country, in California, Australia or Mexico, Thomas has this peculiar way of capturing the inner spirit of surfing. Inspired by the greatest icons of the 60s, his steady, unflinching passion for surfing remains relatively unchanged since the first time he took a camera. As art aficionados, ocean lovers and design amateurs, that’s what caught our eyes the first time we met. Thomas has a true fascination for images. « I have the same approach with surfing as with photography. I usually spend more time on the aesthetic aspect of a camera than on the technical side. It’s like when choosing a surfboard, » he says. « Most of the time, I opt for cameras that carry an interesting history and unique design. »

Digital or analog? That’s a question we dared asking. Fortunately for us, Thomas didn’t choose. Digital for work, analog for fun. We asked him to go back on this precious selection of 35mm shots displayed in this article. « These last rolls are mostly black and white pictures I took last year in Biarritz and during trips. The black and white rolls allow me to develop them myself cause it’s quite easy to do and I can save a bit money as well. I shot around 25 rolls and developed some in September. But the rolls ended up stating on top of my desk, » he explains. « So once the rain season arrived, I started to develop the 13 rolls left! These rolls represent generally the off moments while on shoots, on trips or just when with friends. Some have been taken during surf sessions in Biarritz, some others in Paris or during Baiona Bestak (Fêtes de Bayonne, France). Most of them were shot in California during my last trip, from Venice to San Onofre and Malibu, including a short visit in Mexico. I also got some pictures from the opening ceremony of the Blue Factory in San Sebastian and there are some views from New York as well while a shoot for Oxbow. » Thomas has been working as a staff photographer for the french brand called Oxbow for the last 3 years. « My mission is to create most of their visual content and bring a little thing to their brand image. That’s why I collaborate a lot with their ambassadors, especially with French surfer Clovis Donizetti. Before every new season, I also organize the collection photoshoots for their catalogue and lookbooks. We tend to head to coastal cities in order to link up clothes to the ocean, and bridge city and surfing. It’s always great to discover interesting places and see how humans adapted and developed their lifestyle ad activities depending on the continents and cultures. »

Thomas remembers his very first travel for the brand. A 10-days surf trip to the French island of Guadeloupe, just a month after signing with them. « We also left to California in 2017 before discovering the rough winter in Oregon. No sun for 9 days. We’ve also been chasing waves in Italy and our last trip was in Sweden in order to shoot the next winter’s collection. A nice discovery in terms of both landscape, culture and lifestyle. » The french photographer shoots with all that passes through his way. « I mainly shot this series (seen in this article) of analog pictures with a Canon AE-1 with a 50mm, as well as with a point-and-shoot Olympus mju camera including a 35mm lent by a friend. I also have a Nikonos II to shoot in the water, famous design coming directly from Cousteau’s mind in the early 60s, then Nikon bought it back. I also recently acquired a Russian camera, called Horizon, panoramic style that I can’t wait to try. I also shoot with a Pentax 6×7, quite massive but amazing. It’s not easy to carry it especially on trip due to its weight and format (120mm). »

Weight and format are no big deal for Thomas as he draws inspiration from surf culture legends like Leroy Grannis who created some of the most memorable images that surfing has ever seen. « I remember the DVDs of the X Games and of « Nuits de la Glisse » (Night of the ride). At that time, as a teenager, surfing made me dream but I missed something. I didn’t look further than that at the time. I was hooked by this freestyle culture of BMX and its hectic aspect created from scratch by this american culture. I read the magazines and looked at those guys touring across the US. At age 13,in my teenager’s bedroom in Nantes, I imagined myself riding my bike and taking pictures of these crazy spots, » he says. « Later, I stumbled upon One California Day, which came out 10 years ago. It was probably my first  introduction to the story of longboarding. I wanted to dig into archives, portraits of unique characters in order to learn more about this historical grace of surfing. I discovered the work of Leroy Grannis, through Ron Stoner, Don James and Leo Hetzel. I’ve been blown away by their work. I remember the beach, the light and unique atmosphere from California and Hawaii, the crazy cars with amazing designs, testimony of a past era. Pictures from Arnaud de Rosnay in France in the 60s are also iconic shots. I like the soul of these shots and films, that’s why I slowly try to go back to these cameras, as well as with my surfboards, they both embody this era. I try to do it my way though. »

His way, that’s what makes Thomas’s work stand out. Recently he worked on a book project entitled Impressions. « Last year, I started to search in my external discs of these past 3 years, ended up with 4000 images that I found potentially interesting to use. Choosing the final selection has been a long and difficult process but I managed to gather 150 pictures, » he explains. « Then, I started the layout listening to some jazz to get inspired. After trying among 30 covers and starting from 300 pages, I finally have a final version. The book will be ready and out next week (mid-March, 2019)! » Biarritz-based Thomas Lodin photographer reminds us the aesthetics appeal of surfing and it feels good. 

More of Thomas Lodin’s work on his website.

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Based in the South-West of France since 2004, French-German artist visual artist Louisa Raddatz’s work is predominantly based on memory: »My personal and individual memories, as well as my family story through which I want to distinguish myself from history,« she says. »Another important feature of my work is about creating imaginary landscapes based on organic materials as aim to sensitize people of environmental protection – pollution, endangered species – and ecology.«

Inspired by nature, halfway between autobiography and fiction, Louisa uses different surprising natural materials such as hair, horse hair, clay, sheep whole and latex. »Latex is an interesting ephemeral material because by time and a long process, latex is getting blacker and blacker«, she explains. For her 2016-Dark flight project, the France-based committed artist shaped plants »trapped and engulfed by latex as marine animals affected by these disasters« in order to reveal the impacts of oil spills on marine ecology.

On the occasion of her art installation »Atlas« part of the global »Vaste Monde« exhibition in Anglet (France) at the Villa Beatrix, we had a chat with the artist. Let’s meet.

Hi Louisa, how did you get introduced to art?

I always knew that I wanted to do something creative, like being an artist. How I played as a child was already different and imaginative. For example when I was six, I created an animal cemetery with my best friend and I had already created graves for my future pets that I never had until now. I didn’t realize it but it was already important for me to work around memories and learn to preserve them. My passion for art has his origins rooted in a family’s cultural inheritance. My father loved collecting things. He was passionate about space and he collected everything he could find in newspapers. I created an installation entitled « Raumzeit – Welt t traum » about his collection and I was brought to interrogate his personal story (through photos of my father) and his history (Cold War). My story works hands in hands with my family’s, so it’s about my own identity as well as my human identity.

Born in Germany, raised in France, what did you dream of as a kid?

I’ve always been a dreamer but with time, every adult loses some part of magic and innocence. When I was a little child I dreamt of becoming an art teacher or working with pottery. I ended becoming an artist and I have already worked with clay, especially with my »Vestiges« (Remains) piece that questions the destruction of coral reefs. Today when I create, I feel like a child who is playing, and I’m returning a bit back to my childhood.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

When I was a student, I kept a personal diary where I drew one drawing every day, including the date of the day. So by doing so, I could liberate instinctively my feelings and emotions in an obsessional and abstract way.  For a long time, I didn’t see my drawings as an artwork but only as simple sketches and a research tool linked to my imaginary.  I never shared these drawings to anyone. Working with organic materials, I felt these drawings weren’t enough »alive« for me. In 2016, a series of drawings named »Métamorphoses« was born. This set of drawings was finally animated and lively, constantly in transformation, changing, and moving as a »flipbook«. One drawing followed by another one, reproducing a same shape and adding new elements on it. In this way I created an evolution over time.  My goal was to offer infinity to this piece as well as to my work, more globally. Transformation over time lets us think of the artist Roman Opalka who, for decades, has been writing numbers on the walls of a room every day. At first the wall was all white. Today, despite the ink of the writing, the wall is becoming more and more black. I was also inspired by the works of Michel Blazy, which are sentenced to decompose, transform over time in order to reach the eternity of existence.

»Métamorphoses« is actually a set of more than a hundred of drawings, always in progress, unfinished… Step by step, new shapes arise, evoking living systems like the animal world and the plant world. Many of my drawings are inspired by the underwater world. That’s out some strange jellyfishes appeared on my paper. As a result of these drawings, I created a piece called “Méduses cailloux« (Pebble jellyfish) in 2018 (see pictures). This work is a reference to the only living species in this world called »turritopsis dohrnii«. Turritopsis dohrnii, is officially known as the only immortal creature that can live forever. The secret to eternal life, as it turns out, is not just living a really, really long time. It’s all about maturity, or rather, the lack of it. The immortal jellyfish propagates and then, faced with the normal career path of dying, they opt instead to revert to a sexually immature stage. So they don’t die but transforms back into their juvenile polyp state. »Méduses cailloux« are special jellyfishes that have some pearls on their filaments, it can remember mermaid’s tears-plastic pellets. You can find a lot on the beach of Les Landes in France.  

Tell us more about this »obsessive family archaeology«? Why intimacy, relationships and family are such important subjects?

My personal story is not an ordinary story. The family is union, you are linked by blood. My grandparents are gone. When my last grandfather died, it was the end of a big generation and I created »Marche Blanche«, a homage to all the people who unfortunately left us. This work can make us think about the work of Christian Boltanski. I didn’t really know my grandparents. Two of my sisters are touring the United States by bicycle since 2008. They will probably never come back. I didn’t see them since 2008. I realized a photo album entitled »Sisters« and an installation entitled »Sisters on the road« as an attempt to remain connected. These creations are called »atlas« in reference to the work »the Mynomsyne atlas« made by art historian Aby Warburg (1866-1929); a puzzle of »constellations« that created a family inheritance from his intimate space, documents and archives forming a collection.

Your body of work tends to question not only texture but also space and time. The notion of »past« is also an important topic. Tell us more about the importance of the past in your process of creation.

I’m attempting to reconstruct things from the past by fragments of memories. I present an accumulated quantity of memorabilia. It’s my starting point. Keeping it allows mine to return back to the past to be finally able to preserve it for maybe… eternity? In doing so, I rely on tracks, archives and documents. In order to not forget or »lose memory« of the past, I attempt to resuscitate the past by the means of accumulation. I’m connecting the present with the past. In my work, I interrogate material, space and time (past and present). In order to capture the uncatchable, time and space, I use my artworks as my passageway into the past. I create art that has at its core »survival«.

What kind of mediums do you use? Tell us more about your stunning art installation »Atlas« part of the global »Vaste Monde« exhibition in Anglet (France) at the Villa Beatrix. 

I’m using a lot of different mediums. I have already worked with hair, horse hair, sheep whole, and clay, latex as well. When I’m creating installations with organic materials, it is hard for me to stop, I want to do more and more, in an obsessional way (accumulation) because my pieces are like growing things. I’m always working with the same process starting and resting on a “ritual” based on sorting, ranking, assembling, adding, accumulating, invading, repeating, unifying and finally, living. At the Villa Beatrix in Anglet for an exhibition, I presented two of my works: One entitled »L’envol obscur« (Dark flight) and the other one »Sans titre« (Untitled). »L’envol obscur« was created out of plants (vegetal from the forest) and latex. I transformed the original shapes of plants in something different to be able to speak about the ocean and pollution.

Looking at the art installation, we can guess a reference to the issue of oil spills. Is it?

Exactly. »L’envol obscur« (Dark flight) is about oil spills and oil disaster. When I was younger, I saw a lot of oil spills on TV. In my souvenirs, I  remember harmed and killed seabirds in great numbers, destroyed by oil floats. I’m a vegetarian and this has had a big impact on me. For »Dark flight« in 2016 I worked with different plants from the forest and latex. Latex is an interesting ephemeral material because by time, long process, latex is getting blacker and blacker. I added some black acrylic painting into the latex. Here these plants are trapped and engulfed by latex as marine animals affected by these oil floats disasters. It’s all about the impact of oil spills on marine ecology. The ocean is getting more and more polluted today. Nature lost its original beauty. My approach is to talk about pollution in a very aesthetic, poetic and fairy way. A kind of imaginary landscape which lets us dream and question ourselves.

You’ve also been using plastic trash and remains trying to give them a new life. Tell us about this amazing art project.

This project entitled »RVB« (Rouge/Red/Vert/Green/Bleu/blue) was created in 2010. It represents three monumental trash islands in primary colors. For the green one, I have created an outfit of trash so I can animate the trash with my body by doing performances as I did in Bilbao, Spain. The idea is that all the trash gives a new life to a new creature. I was inspired by the seventh continent that is a third of the size of the United States and consists of an accumulation of plastic waste in the oceans. It would cover an area larger than France – nearly 640.000 km2.

In 1997, the American oceanographer Charles Moore discovered the first vortex of waste in the sea: an area of 3.4 million square kilometers contaminated by floating plastic waste, accumulating in the North Pacific gyre, a giant swirling mass of water formed by the ocean currents. Similar pollution can be observed in other gyres in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Recently a whale has been found dead with six kilos of plastic in his stomach. My work »Vestiges« (Remains) represents damaged white reef corals realized with clay. Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by coral whitening, caused by the death of unicellular algae that live in symbiosis with coral, resulting in coral death. Coral reefs have survived tens of thousands of year of natural change, but many of them may not able to survive the havoc brought by humankind.

What are your up and coming projects?

Actually, the exhibition »Vaste Monde« is always open for visiting until 9th of March 2019 at Villa Beatrix, Centre d’art contemporain Anglet, France. I invite you to discover »Dark flight«. I will participate in a festival »La magie dans tous ses états« organized by a local association in Jonzac, France. I will show one work at Cloitre des Carmes in Jonzac  from the 10 to the 29th of February. I also have some upcoming projects like another artist residency in Charente Maritime, France.

Discover Louisa Raddatz’s work on her website. 

The post Louisa Raddatz presents “Atlas” appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

« Art has always been a testbed for a notion of the real » says the first line of the Chronus Art Center’s website introduction (CAC).

Signals by Biarritz-based visual artist Nicolas Sassoon (lives and works in Biarritz, France, and Vancouver) & Brazil-born artist Rick Silva (lives and works in Eugene, Oregon) belonged to the twenty-three works exhibited during the unReal. the Algorithmic Present, « an exhibition that attempts to confront the digital present through the very means of technological intervention both as critical examination as well as alternative prospects. »

Recently exhibited in Anglet at the Georges Pompidou center (France), Silva and Sassoon’s 3 web-based works presented there as large video installations have been conceived as an immersive environment inviting the viewer to question the human footprint on the planet. 

Indeed, through digital processes, the two artists created a series of video works that reflects upon their relationship to their natural surrounding. Through immersive projections, they examine the resulting human alteration on our oceans. Each computer generated video work contrast an ocean view infused with digital effects – digital carpets lying on the ocean floor as well as digital cylinders looking like drilling machines – that simulate a seemingly oily substance reflected on the surface of the water, thus replicating the impending visions of an oil spill in open waters.

The natural liquid environment and computer-generated landscapes are combined to a humming soundtrack suggesting technological presence, creating a contrast between technology and a natural setting.

« My name is Nicolas Sassoon, I’m a visual artist based in Vancouver. My practice revolves mainly around animation and video projection. I’ve always been drawn to a type of imagery, images or artworks that really create that magical moments when you look at them and you are transported somewhere else but you also baffled by how it was possibly made, » explains french-american artist Nicolas Sassoon. « I work with this very simple overlapping of two images. It’s something that’s really close to analog animation in a way. I don’t use coding, I don’t use programming, I do everything by hand. I stretch things, I change the speed, motion, and through these experimentations, I reach a result that I find to be a good result. »

Produced by pairing complementary fields of research in computer imaging, each video work « bring to life a simulated ecological ruin as a gesture of contemplation towards an environment subject to perpetual human alteration. » About nature, Nicolas Sassoon says: « Nurturing hobbies is really key to me to keep a curious mind. Working on the garden, weeding, planning stuff, doing anything that involves taking care of the garden, is super grounding. It’s a nice complement to being in front of a laptop ten hours a day. »

Silva and Sassoon’s mutual contemporary project entitled Signals have been exhibited across the world, from Dublin (Ireland), Toronto & Vancouver (Canada), Berkeley (USA), Biarritz (France), Shangai (China), Belgrade (Serbia), Basel (Switzerland), among other places.

Discover Nicolas Sassoon and Rick Silva‘s works.

The post “Signals” by Nicolas Sassoon & Rick Silva appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

At number 50 Avenida de Navarra, behind the large windows of the San Sebastian-based Blue Factory, Dani Garreton draws at her desk, reminding the visitors her enthusiasm to paint daily. On one of the sunny days of an endless Spring season, the Chilean artist receives me with smiles, folk music blasting out and her adorable little Shiba Inu laid on a pillow.

When we enter the former abandoned building converted into a high ceiling creative space, we are struck by an inimitable fascination for the blue color. Seafarers, surfers, seagulls and fish canvas sit near windows that touch the ceiling. A penchant for the ocean is clearly visible through the Chilean artist’s work who finds »all sea creatures so fascinating«. Stuffed full with wooden planks, watercolor paint sets, drawings on paper, buckets of pencils and brushes, Dani’s studio is an opportunity to better understand her innate creativity.

As a youngster, Dani left Chile for Europe. A few years later, she settled down in the Basque Country where she enjoys every single piece of surrounding nature. »Nature is my first love,« she says. »It helps me keep my sanity.« As we discuss  her childhood in Chile, her attachment to the Panthalassa Society family and desire to raise awareness through art, Daniela reminds us that the ocean is what keeps her creatively moving forward. »Using my art as a message for a more conscious living. Expressing myself and finding that freedom I had as a child.«

Let’s get started. Can you begin by telling us how you would define yourself?

I was born in Chile, a very long country with more than 4000 km of coasts. From an early age, I was influenced by the sea. I still remember those endless summers at the beach with my little sister, collecting shells, building fantastic worlds in the sand, swimming and just having this feeling of total freedom. I grew up in a very creative family and we were always pushed to express ourselves through art.

How has your approach to drawing and painting developed over the years?

I think there is this rollercoaster with drawing and painting through the years. When you’re a kid, the creative process is very organic and intuitive. It’s purely about feelings and emotions. A splash of color, some crazy lines and suddenly you have a giraffe! Everything is allowed. When you approach the teenage years, you become more perfectionist, you try to draw realistic, you want to learn to draw and paint as perfect as possible and finally get the perfect technique. Then the challenge is to unlearn all this and find the freedom you had as a kid. Be able to let yourself go and not be obsessed with getting the perfect result but the closest to your real emotion. Feed that confidence you had as a kid. As Picasso said “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

Based in San-Sebastian today, you tend to immerse yourself in nature. Can you tell us a bit about your daily routine?

Nature is my first love. It helps me keep my sanity. First thing I do in the morning is kiss and pet my dog, then same to my man. Then we go for a walk with my pup, I breathe, I admire the ocean, and we walk to the Blue Factory where I have my studio. I never take the car in the city, I walk or ride my bike. Being able to get to your workplace without the need of a car or public transport is a major privilege. You get to work with such a good mood. In  the evening, we take a long stroll in the beach with my pup and if the sea is gentle, I go for a surf or swim.

What does the ocean mean to you?

The ocean is life. Its change. Its constant movement. It teaches you so much. It really forces you to be in the present moment, be aware and in synch with nature’s rhythm. Life starts floating in amniotic fluid, which has a similar composition to ocean water, so I feel we have this very primitive connection to the sea.

A penchant for the ocean is clearly revealed through your work since you depict water, capture seafarers, surfers, seagulls and fish on your canvas. What kind of sea creatures or ocean-related characters do you find particularly inspiring?

I find all sea creatures so fascinating. After I read the book DEEP I became so fascinated by whales and how the communicate. It’s out of this world.

Panthalassa translates the ocean into stories with powerful voices. Today, you’re one of them appearing as a major member of the Panthalassa Society. Can you tell us more about this collaboration?

Panthalassa embodies all the love and respect I feel for the ocean. I have been a part of the Panthalassa society since the beginning and it’s like a family. We are all driven by the same force of blue love so it’s really a perfect match for me to collaborate with them.

Today, through your work, you bring awareness to some environmental issues. You’ve been part of numerous projects like the recent “Stop Sucking: Say not to plastic straws!” campaign, reminding us that 500 million plastic straws are used every single day in the US today. According to you, do you use your creativity as a tool for climate action?

I think communicating through art is such a powerful tool, art knows no language, it speaks to the emotions so you feel touched and want to be a part of the solution. As individuals, we all have a responsibility to support a good cause we feel close to our hearts. First hand, I see how plastic pollution is destroying our oceans, how climate change is killing entire ecosystems so I do whaterver I can to help.

Do you have a favorite artwork so far?

Probably one of the first fisherman I ever draw that was inspired by Jacques Cousteau, named “Jacques”. I hold that one dearly because it really opened some kind of doors I had locked inside.

Earlier this year, you set your studio in the Panthalassa’s Blue Factory in San Sebastian, an interdisciplinary place, crossroad of the Panthalassa Society. Can you pay us a visit?

I used to work from home and was pretty much like a lone wolf. I had convinced myself the life of an artist was that of solitude. After a few years, it really started messing with my head and I found harder and harder to draw the border between work life and home life. Having my own studio is the best feeling in the world. Having my own space is sacred. I cannot wait for Mondays because I love coming to the Blue Factory so much. It has such a nice vibe, you can breathe creativity, you can smell the ocean. Since we opened it, a lot of people just knock at the door and come in. We’ve had people visiting from all over the world and it has this awesome sinergy going on.

Looking to the future, what can we look forward to coming up with you?

I am working on some collaborations and a future exhibition next summer at the Blue Factory Gallery.

Discover more of Dani Garreton’s work on her website.

The post Dani Garreton’s childlike creativity appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

My style is mainly made of a very thoughtful aesthetics regarding colors and shapes. I see it as an inheritance from my academic background as a graphic designer.

 

As a kid, artist Jose Javier dreamt of becoming a famous professional football player. Born in Donostia (San Sebastian) in the Spanish Basque Country, Jose, known as Yosigo, was in love with the local Real Sociedad Football Team. Today, despite the boredom of the endless hours spent in front of a screen, Yosigo became one of Spain’s most interesting photographers. « I started in the world of photography by chance, » he confesses. «  My style is mainly made of a very thoughtful aesthetics regarding colors and shapes. Of course, I see it as an inheritance from my academic background as a graphic designer. »

When he’s asked to describe his creative identity and signature both as a graphic designer and photographer, Yosigo puts it simple. « I like very clean and well-composed images. » Composition and the use of space seem to be at the heart of the his work. « It’s simply something that comes naturally. »

Umbrellas, beach chairs, swimmers, buoys, towels and crowded beaches looking like small dots in the sand… Through soft pastel colors, Yosigo’s beach-related visuals look like David Hockney’s serial paintings of swimming pools. Gaining height, the basque photographer reminds us that the ocean and the sea have always been a central element in his life. «Seeing the horizon deeply calms me down. It’s like being at home even when I’m away.»

Combining his personal work with professional missions, Yosigo can be somehow defined as obsessed with symmetry. « My favorite photographer and my most inspirational artist is Stephen Shore. » Renowned for his banal shots of the american ordinary scenes of everyday life, Shore displays an immersive photography. As does the Spanish artist.

Now based in Barcelona, Yosigo shares his studio with artists, graphic designers and like-minded photographers. « I love my studio and the people I share it with. We renovated it recently and today, the studio looks super white, there is plenty of light, and it is full of plants. And it’s almost always messy » he says. « I am surrounded by creative people and they represent a great influence on my work today. »

Follow Yosigo’s work on his website.

The post Composition and the use of space with Yosigo appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

There is a piece of boat in the middle of the room, a car bonnet in a corner, a motorcycle gaz tank, some wooden and steel boards, crumpled maps and pieces of plastic. »I’ve always been strongly influenced by car culture and the nautical world. I usually work with objects that had a first life, generally objects from the 70s.«

In his Saint-Chamond- 270m2 workshop, French artist Maxime Lamarche piles up objects, combines genres and mixes inspirations. »I like this kind of items that embody the fantasy of a whole generation. I modify them, hybridize them and combine them. My final goals is to modify their primary function and be able to give them a second life through an art quest.«

As shown in the »Austin’s Island« art installation, Maxime Lamarche questions the duration of our illusions and fantasies. »The boat-mountain« is installed on two feet, reminding the base used for models, and giving the feeling that the boat became useless for most of practical purposes.« Defined as a hybrid between a speed boat – a Fletcher 155 Arrowsport – and a resin model of a mountain, the two elements combined reveal a different myth.

The french artist constantly explores the confrontation between a moving object, like cars and boats, and an unchanging landscape. »In my work, there is the recurring fact of reusing symbolic objects from the leisure culture that developed itself during the Glorious Thirty until 1973,« Maxime says. »We’ve seen boats, motorcycles and cars running through this last century. Whether it be the Stock Market crash of 1929 or the 2008 crisis, this »leisure society« carries the powerful notion of crisis.«

Sometimes exaggerated to the point of absurdity, Lamarche’s art explorations are able to perform into the real world and meet people’s reactions. »Submerged, emerged or drowning sculptures… we never know if these objects are eventually victorious or not.«

Follow Maxime Lamarche’s work on his website.

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As a true pioneer in his country, Sumer Verma tends to raise awareness of the ocean by showing the beauty of biodiversity. Considered the first underwater photographer and cinematographer in India, Sumer also works as the managing partner at Lacadives India, the country’s first dive centre.

After two decades spent under the surface of our oceans, the 42-years-old photographer dedicates his work to spreading a message to the world and the young generation about the state of our oceans. »Even after almost 20 years of diving and 10,000 dives into the ocean, I’m still totally blown away by the abundance of marine life,« he says before mentioning the dying reefs and the loss of fish diversity. »But the ocean has dramatically changed. The amount of problems is catastrophic now and causes coral damages. Overconsumption, cruelty to animals, shark finning, overfishing for consumption, plastic pollution, pollution based on dumping, global warming… Everything is damaging the ocean. We reached the critical point.«

Lately, Panthalassa had a great talk with India’s best-known underwater and marine life photographer Sumer Verma, evoking a few solutions to global warming as education and making marine life documentaries to sensibilize people to the beauty of the planet.

Hi Sumer, do you remember your very first scuba diving experience?

I was born in Mumbai and after college, back in 1997, I dived for the very first time near Lakshadweep Islands. Before that, I’ve only been swimming. I’ve never done any snorkeling or diving before. Then, on a vacation, I got my scuba diving certification. At age 21, that’s when it all started.

Would you say this transformative trip was the beginning of your passion for the ocean?

I used to live in the city so, until then, I wasn’t exposed to any pristine ocean. Mumbai is situated by the coast and we’ve always loved the ocean, we would even go to Goa on beach vacation, however I never really experienced the sea or nature in its pristine form. In 1997, it was the first time I looked into the sea though an eye mask. When I made the trip to Lakshadweep, I’ve been blown away by its white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, the turquoise lagoons and pines trees all around. I was not expecting that, I’d never seen something like that before, I was not aware that something like that even existed. At least in India! It was a complete positive chock to see how beautiful this area was. The water looked like glass, you could see 20-30m below when underwater. It was amazing to see how clear and clean the ocean could be.

That’s how you got naturally introduced to cinematography?

From that precise moment, the only thing I had in mind was « I need to live here, I need to do more diving and need to be surrounded by a place like this rather than spend time in the city. » So I took a lot of diving courses. After 50 or 60 dives, I decided to capture my passion through video. At the time, there was no information about underwater photography so it took me a long time to turn myself to photography. I first started video just to capture moving pictures of the ocean, sunsets, turtles and the light.

Photography came after then?

Yes, I slowly realized that being a cinematographer was very difficult, especially with the heavy material. You definitely need a lot of hard discs for example (laughs). And frankly, most of the time, the videos you create are dedicated to Instagram or internet only. So I was collecting a lot of footages but felt there was no way to really use them, or possibly think of a story. I felt it was a very restrictive use. Photography helped me to focus on my work. So, after a few years, I shifted to still cameras and housing. Ten years ago, there wasn’t any underwater photographer in India. Today, I’m glad to see the diving community in India growing a lot. I would say there’re currently 10 digital photographers and housing users in India. There are maybe 100 point-and-shoot camera users doing underwater photography. But at the time, there was nobody doing underwater photography.

Today, you’re considered the first underwater photographer and cinematographer in India. How does it feel?

To be honest, I’m very happy to be able to travel and jump from an assignment to another. Whether it be for music videos or feature films, all my videos are water-related. I have a catalogue of different commercial clients, going from Vogue to surfing publications. Being able to do all theses things is definitely a great feeling because it’s always been a dream to run an independent career.

What do you like the most in your job today?

Being able to work with passion is what I love the most! Although the last ten years have been pretty intense, when I’m underwater with my camera, I really don’t feel like working. It’s pure pleasure, passion and love. Turning the passion into profession and get paid to do what I love is a great feeling for sure!

In a recent interview, you said »What you see on the surface of the ocean is nothing like what’s underneath. It makes you realize just how vast and beautiful it is.« How would you describe the underwater world?

The underwater world is pure magic. Even after almost 20 years of diving and 10,000 dives into the ocean, I’m still totally blown away by the abundance of marine life. There’s so much life down there! The colors of all the fish, the movement of some larger fish like manta rays or sharks are pure magic. You can’t believe it’s real, it’s so beautiful.

You spend most of your time underwater all over the world. Over the years, did you notice a change due to climate change?

To be honest, in 10 years, the ocean has dramatically changed. The ocean is getting totally destroyed. In 1996-1997, there was an important coral bleaching, in 1998, El Nino had a huge impact on coral reef. IN 2010, there was another bleaching and another one in 2015. Global warming is the very first factor. Today, despite the apparent pristine clear water on the islands, 90% of the coral reef is bleached. That’s why the fish population is also going down. The amount of problems is catastrophic now and causes coral damages. Overconsumption, cruelty to animals, shark finning, overfishing for consumption, plastic pollution, pollution based on dumping, global warming… Everything is damaging the ocean. We reached the critical point.

That’s why you an active member of ReefWatch Marine Conservation, an NGO dedicated to protecting damaged coral reefs. Tell us more about your actions.

ReefWatch Marine Conservation is very engaged to educate the youngsters. We try to raise awareness here in India. We’re currently working on a project aimed at pushing consumers to use biodegradable packages. For example, we recently worked closely with restaurants to convince them to use bamboo straws. The movement is on, however you can’t help yourself feeling powerless sometimes because whatever you’re doing, despite your small efforts, the global issue remains huge.

 According to you, what would be the solutions?

We need to raise awareness about the ocean. We’re currently working on a project done through ReefWatch Marine Conservation, in which we encourage more and more sustainable practices in urban areas. Big cities gather millions of people, the problem is real there. We organize beach clean-ups and work on consumption habits with people. We need to make people feel part of it, close to it, and they need to be told what to do. It’s constantly about getting people involved. We work with schools because who can help the world except the next generation? Kids are very positive, open and concerned towards ocean awareness. We keep passing on a message of living in some kind of balance with nature. Individual become very conscious of consumption. We can’t blame other people or blame the government, we need to change our own actions. Recycling and garbage management are an everyday question we need to ask ourselves. We’re part of the problem. So it’s all about educating and inspiring people in a gentle positive way.

Today, you’re one of the most renowned marine life and wildlife photographer with more than 20 years of experience. What are you the most proud of so far?

I started a film project between 98 to 2003. I got a lot of footage in my library and decided to make a film out of it, a project about what’s happening in the area I was based. So we made a film called « Trouble waters » about global warming and its effects in an area so isolated yet so devastated. It reflects what’s going on elsewhere. I won a national award, the best cinematographer and best of the show. It is still a very beautiful moment because the film has been screened in a thousand schools across India, it’s been translated in many languages, and continues to be screened during festivals. Today, there’s not many similar films in India anymore, so still 10 years later, it gives me a lot pride. To me, more than photography, more than articles, films are the most powerful tool that we got to tell stories about the ocean, and show the stack degradation of the ocean.

You’re a managing partner at Lacadives India, the country first dive centre. You’re also currently opening a diving school in The Andaman Islands between India, to the west, and Myanmar. Tell us more about this coming amazing project!

Indeed, I’m proud to be a partner at Lacadives India, the centre where I first got introduced to diving 22 years ago. The season is going to start next week so I’ll spend some time with my instructors there. A number of our clients involve schools programmes who come for snorkeling and scuba dives, walks and talks with marine biologists. We also host a number of internships who come to do photography internships for example. We don’t deal with mass tourists but rather with niche clients as we’re situated in a very isolated spot. So we’re lucky to work with very like minded people. We trained more than 10,000 people so far. Scuba diving is set to become one of the mainstream adventure sports in India.

What are your next projects?

I have more film projects with Bollywood in November and December. The wildlife is very passion-based. For the moment, the opportunities are very small but through the NGO, we’re getting a lot of good feedbacks concerning the ocean. Keep going, keep going!

Follow Sumer Verma’s work on his instagram.

The post Sumer Verma, India’s first underwater photographer appeared first on PANTHALASSA.