Jean-Luc Mylayne’s meticulously choreographed mises-en-scène of birds in their natural habitats are part of an ongoing pictorial archive. As a writer, poet and philosopher, Mylayne uses birds as a metaphor to address broader themes, considering the relationship between humans and animals and how time is perceived. Utilizing special lenses, lighting and a large format camera, he imagines and creates certain scenarios and lies in wait for the birds to visit—typically small, unremarkable songbirds. N°269, Février Mars 2004 (2004) takes place in New Mexico, notable for its arid plains and resounding blue sky, where the artist and his wife and collaborator, Mylène, lived for several years. The composition is carefully controlled with focus and depth of field calibrated across the image, lending it a certain painterly quality. The resulting image does not conform to the perspectives of ornithological studies or classic nature photography, which center on the distinctive features of the birds or the unusual flora, but instead produce a dynamic, filmic quality. Like the moment at which he presses the shutter, the photograph is a unique perception of time: A staged instant that Mylayne imagined long before his avian protagonist came into view.
Jean-Luc Mylayne’s works are currently on view in the exhibitions Jean-Luc Mylayne: The Autumn of Paradise at Huis Marseille, Van Gogh Inspires Jean-Luc Mylayne at Van Gogh Museum and Among the Trees at Hayward Gallery.
N°269, Février Mars 2004 is located in London. Please contact us if you would like to arrange a viewing.