THE KITSCH DESTRUCTION OF OUR WORLD
THE KITSCH DESTRUCTION OF OUR WORLD
CREDITS
According to Canadian photographer Benoit Paillé, photography is not a representation of what is real, but creates its own reality. For over a year, Paillé travelled through the vast landscape of Canada whilst living in his truck. Living in a vehicle for so long changed his lifestyle, not only giving him new experiences but also giving him more space to work on his art. In his series The Kitsch Destruction of Our World, Paillé aims to transform reality and create images that are free of stereotypes. He sees himself as a hyper-realistic painter; documenting an altered state of mind whilst exploring the vastness of the landscape.
Fascinated by nature, and the way it’s controlled and influenced at the hands of human beings, Paillé seeks the unexpected and unseen in an overdose of structured spaces. In his images he cultivates a predilection for casual people and locations, kitsch landscapes, fences and strange parking-lots. By highlighting these controlled landscapes, he exposes how aestheticised and controlled the world around us has become, to such an extent that we can barely call nature a natural phenomenon anymore.
At the heart of his research is the ways in which Paillé uses light, that he sees as a matrix of what we can see and interpret. By using different bright coloured hues, overexposure and flashes, Paillé manages to transform regular looking locations into magical environments where anything can happen. With his colourful lighting and intriguing compositions, Paillé creates visceral and striking photographs that prove how showing the banality of something can make it extraordinary.
