Interview: Jean-Charles Neufcour
Luca Curci talks with Jean-Charles Neufcour, honourable mention of ITSLIQUID International Contest – 16th edition

“Born in 1956 in the Paris region, I trained as a computer engineer and became interested in photography very early on. Rather than self-taught in this field, I practised a lot of black and white film which I developed and printed myself. Then around the age of 16, I got into photography and color film printing. I also had the opportunity to work on set photos for a feature film in the 1976s. Very busy with my studies and then with my professional life, I temporarily put aside my passion… Driven by a deep need to express my sensitivity and my sensations, I returned to photography by training myself in digital techniques and starting with a minimalist approach, focused on reflected light, the grain of materials, the oxidized and rusty shells of the ships docked in the port of Rouen. (Rotomagus surfaces?)

My favourite subjects are the passage of time, and the functioning of memory… how do our memories come back to us in successive waves, how do past events overlap and create new images from vanished moments? and I find that photography is an ideal medium for transcribing these emotions… It is this approach that we can see in the “Réthymnon Memory” series and the “Le Jardin extraordinary” series.”

Luca Curci – What do you think makes a good photo? What details do you focus on?
Jean-Charles Neufcour – In my opinion, a good photo is an image that conveys an emotion, and/or an idea… I find that we concentrate a little too much on the quality of the images, their definition, the quality of the midtones, the details in the highlights etc. but in fact all of this is ancillary, and I believe that we reduce photography to a beautiful aesthetic object… There are many paths that are still little explored, superpositions when shooting, and not with Photoshop or any other software, trichrome, photography without a camera, etc., A good photo is certainly not an academic photograph, the photo must show what we cannot see, I often describe myself as a photo symbolist, aren’t trees living pillars?

LC – When you take photos, are you usually inspired by the situation or do you find inspiration within yourself?
JCN – I always find inspiration within myself, I have a sort of obsession with themes that concern me all the time and for which I need to express myself.

LC – Where do you find your inspiration?
JCN – In my readings and in my personal themes which always relate to big questions. (on time, light, the degradation of nature, etc.)

LC – What is the most difficult part of creating your artwork?
JCN – The wait… I live in a region that doesn’t get much sunlight, and I can’t work on my images without light…. So I carefully organize my outdoor shooting sessions, and I ruminate on my themes while waiting for a favourable day…

LC – How does your creative process work?
JCN – I am very organized, I prepare everything in advance, the location is chosen, the place where to put my camera is fixed, and I already have in mind the rendering of the image before shooting, I leave a little chance but very little.