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Clement Briend's Tree Projections Explore the Link Between Reality and Imagination

Paris-based photographer Clement Briend shares his unique approach to seeing and capturing the world.

Briend with his latest installation of gargoyle projections.

French photographer Clément Briend’s work blurs the divide between reality and imagination, attempting to uncover the unseen realities hidden in plane sight in our surroundings. His ghostly projections--often large-scale faces or masks that emerge from trees---have been spotted on the streets of Berlin, Paris, and Cambodia. They stare out at passersby with a look that is sometimes pleading, sometimes accusatory. What do they mean? We reached out to Briend to find out what his work is all about.

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Briend’s rather unusual journey to projection art began when he started drawing physical science studies, which in turn led him to photography. Briend found himself fascinated by photos that strayed away from capturing reality, proposing a different interpretation of the medium. He hacked together a flash projector from a Speedlite flash and an old camera and with this homemade invention was able to project slide images for a few seconds at a time. The ephemeral nature of the images meant that the only way they could really be captured was through photograph, which led Briend to think about photography and projection as two sides of the same coin--one being reality and the other how reality could be reimagined.

“I use optical projections to create images in reality,” he explains. By placing these images in public spaces, Briend creates a link between reality and imagination. His interest in using urban landscapes as canvases for his work resembles the way advertisers communicate messages. “If I’m able to project huge images seen by many people, well then I have real power. However, I don’t have anything to sell and I don’t want to use projection only for myself." Instead, Briend hopes to tap into the collective and political nature of public spaces as a way to change the way people perceive the world.

Picture from Cambodian Trees

Picture from Cambodian Trees

Cambodian Trees transformed the streets of Paris and Cambodia into one of Briend’s latest photographic explorations. The project consisted of overlaying trees with 3D projected images of divine creatures--from gargoyles to Buddha mirages--that are highly regarded in Cambodian culture. In a dark cityscape, “such nocturnal visions allow us to grasp the way magic profoundly influences how Cambodian people perceive the world,” notes Briend.

In many ways, it is a study of the spiritual figures that inhabit the world, made visible by placing them on objects of nature. Through multiple large format projectors and carefully chosen surfaces for every projection, the texture of the leaves and picture of the creatures complemented one another beautifully.

@dslreyes