Galleria Monteoliveto

Jean marc Laroque

I was born in Cherbourg, a seaport in Normandy in North West France.

For 34 years, I have lived in Melbourne Australia. I have worked as a professional photographer for the last 30 years.

My work involves:

• landscapes with a graphic, almost abstract quality • large-scale industrial elements within these landscapes, and • studies of industrial structures.

- My aim is to express the feeling of the natural world, to show the visual harmony that can exist between human and natural components and to find beauty in industrial subjects. Occasionally, I include a fragile, human presence to emphasise scale and power.

- It seems to me that in Europe, the culture of visual expression runs deep in society. A lot of value is placed on aesthetics in art, design and architecture. So, when I started work as a professional photographer in Australia in the 1980s, I never saw photography as just a commercial enterprise. I always believed in the aesthetic validity of my work, beyond its commercial purpose.

- The biggest obstacle I have faced is maintaining a sense of artistic value while working in a commercial field.

- The most gratifying experience is getting a better shot that the one I imagine. It’s when everything falls into place - the composition, light, shape and so forth, then something unexpected happens that brings a little bit of magic to the picture.- What do I want my art to accomplish? I want to bring people into my world. If I get a sense of peace or wonder from a location, I want people to get the same feeling when they see my image. In the case of industrial subjects, I want to show people a new way of seeing an object that would not normally be considered beautiful.

- I don’t know if my art will stand out, but it is a reflection of my experiences and my values. My life has been unconventional in some ways, so maybe my work reflects this.