Talking about my work is quite difficult for me, lets just say that this project is a result of practising different forms of art and that I wanted to put together: in theatre, both as an actor and a decorator - painting, photography and the pleasure of ''story telling''. Recomposing photos where all these different forms of art are present, but most of all showing a snapshot of images in my head which have been formed since childhood.

It is not so much of myself that appears in «Dramagraphies», it is rather the different roles that I have interpreted as an actor. Having that distance is important as less of me «project» in these images rather than keeping them within me. Naturally, the images come from within «me», but I am not relating my life, I am having fun interpreting them without any regard for my physical appearance, which I tend to deform more than anything else. I like caricature; it forces to take position. I like images that tell a story and the increasing non-reaction arising from today's photography is not something I care for. I am a fan of reaction. I realise that my images may appear «old hat» while the modern art scene is more concerned with the «contemporary», but that's where the problem lies: most pictures rely heavily on «form» very often leading to boredom.

All of the background of my pictures are built as miniature models and objects photographed separately. I always leave the possibility for change: adding or removing an object or changing the lighting.

14 years of theatre experience as an actor and designer, and some tens years dedicated to set and stage design for the theatre, painting, sculpture and photography led Michel Lagarde in 2003 to begin working on his photographic series «Dramagraphies».

For more information, please contact Michel Lagarde at: michel.lagarde@aliceadsl.fr
or visit: http://michellagarde.com