AMOUR 0x88182201 #1-5 (2017) Photography by Éric Petr

Title: [AMOUR] 0x88182201
Edition: #1/5
Fine art paper: Canson Arches Velin Museum 315g (30×42 cm including a margin)
Size of the printed image: 20x30 cm
Artwork is signed on the back and can be signed on the front at your request.


ABOUT THIS PHOTOGRAPHIC NARRATIVE

[ AMOUR ] by Éric Petr
Abandonment, Movement, Openness, Universe, Rebirth

"AMOUR is a wave that crosses galaxies and radiates into our subconscious. With this series, I wanted to reach the core of that vibration and capture its powerful energy."

Thirty-six digital photographs, echoing the 36 visions of John in the Book of Revelation, were taken spontaneously in full manual mode—without autofocus, with precise control over shutter speed and exposure time. They are published without digital retouching and printed by the artist himself on thick matte or baryta fine art papers.

From experimentation to contemplation, from blur to clarity, from dazzling light to darkness, Éric Petr embraces the unpredictability of the photographic act to reveal its full spectrum of possibilities. Light and time are his raw materials, and his work reflects the notion of the “that-has-been”, as Roland Barthes described—a suspended moment, materially bearing witness to non-physical phenomena of the forever-lost past. Time becomes a question, probing the inevitable death of all things and their possible ghostly survival within the image.

There is a fascination here with the tension between the visible and the invisible, with the attempt to express what cannot be seen or said. The artist seeks to translate perceived energy into a visual substance while preserving its spectral density.

His photographs dwell in the space where images emerge, suggesting more than they reveal. Premonition, clairvoyance, dissolution, interpretation… Within this layered continuum, he avoids the traps of contextual art. His stance toward environment becomes a tool of conditioning and circumstance. The images were captured during the Christmas torchlight procession of 2017 at the Cave of Saint Mary Magdalene, deep in the forest of Sainte-Baume, in the dead of night.

"A point of energetic convergence where, for millennia, people have built and practiced things of deep symbolic power."
The emanations of this sacred site appear as autonomous fragments moving at multiple speeds. Each frame releases disparate elements, reinforcing the alterity of belonging and questioning identity, event, and representation.

Stone statues, walkers, torch flames… Forms sculpted by light are traversed by shimmering, restless lines—phenomena imperceptible to the naked eye, small levitating miracles.

"These waves carry frequencies beyond our human and earthly spectrum."
This kineticism is not an optical illusion. Éric Petr opens a portal to another space, another time. The viewer is projected into a supernatural, hallucinatory dimension—caught between recognition and sensory disorientation, where what is seen and what is known are called into question.

Everything is rooted in the act of observation and the slowness of perception.
"When the shutter opens, I surrender to the stream of light that flows toward me… Photography, to me, is true meditation."

This experience draws upon deeply intimate faculties of perception. In this hollowed-out sanctuary, nothing is lost; everything is in motion, gently transforming. Despite the freezing conditions during the shoot (−10°C), imperceptible waves of warmth became palpable, inviting a radiant force to cloak itself in magnetic red.

"That hue evokes love—the fraternal bond uniting men and women in a shared spiritual momentum."

Éric Petr opens the gates of imagination, creating a space that catalyzes our beliefs. The gap narrows between the unreal and its representation. Conviction and wandering collide, captured within an ephemeral absolute—where our exclusive faith in the tangible is gently unsettled by the vibrational field of light.

by Canoline Critiks
Emerging talents in contemporary art


NOTE ON COLOUR ACCURACY
Colours may appear slightly different depending on the screen you are using, as well as on the type of paper, printer, and pigments, which can introduce texture, grain, or slight shifts in tone — sometimes softer, sometimes more contrasted.
In addition, the camera used to photograph the artwork may introduce minor variations in colour accuracy.
The most faithful visual reference remains the main image of the original artwork.
Other photos showing the piece in context are primarily intended to illustrate scale and setting, rather than to reflect its exact aesthetic qualities.

Related themes

Abstract PhotographyColour Night PhotographyImpressionist StyleTorchlight ProcessionSpiritual Journey