Mackie Lines, série de photographie argentique de Hugo Chazot-Ranquet

Hugo Chazot Ranquet

Série

Mackie Lines

Mackie Lines est le premier corpus soutenu à émerger de The Grain Project. Il retient la figure humaine au seuil où un corps devient une forme. Une présence surgit et se retire à la fois, sans jamais tout à fait arriver.

Venu à la photographie par l'ingénierie de recherche, Hugo Chazot-Ranquet en a gardé la méthode. La chambre noire lui sert de laboratoire. Pendant trois ans, il a poursuivi l'effet Sabattier, un accident de lumière qui résiste à la répétition, jusqu'à pouvoir tenir un registre précis de gris et de rupture sur tout un corpus de tirages. Ce contrôle, gagné sur un procédé instable, est la réussite silencieuse de la série.

Les figures sont voilées, anonymes, réfractées à travers du verre cannelé et des prismes jusqu'à ce que le contour se relâche en abstraction. La solarisation et la ligne de Mackie fonctionnent ici comme une grammaire, le moyen par lequel la lumière est amenée à ronger ses propres contours. Les hautes lumières restent voilées. Les noirs restent profonds.

Le résultat se rapproche davantage du dessin au fusain que du reportage. Sculptural et silencieux, il appelle une lecture lente.

Le travail existe sous deux formes. Les tirages en édition, gélatino-argentiques, faits à la main par contact, portent le registre maîtrisé. Un petit nombre de tirages uniques, flashés à la main dans le révélateur, gardent l'accident vivant. Aucun de ces tirages uniques n'existe en double.

La filiation est lisible sans être appuyée. Les nus solarisés de Blumenfeld, les distorsions de Kertész, les corps dissous de Bill Jacobson, les figures voilées de Trine Søndergaard. À cette conversation, le travail apporte une insistance sur le tirage comme œuvre en soi.

Mackie Lines se referme à trente images en décembre 2026. À la lumière des vingt premières, elle annonce un photographe qui traite l'effacement comme une forme d'attention.

A narrow sliver of a face glimpsed through fluted glass, one hand gripping the edge of the glass panel, the rest of the body dissolving into striped bands
A face pressed behind fluted glass, one raised hand above the head and another hand flat against the glass at chest height, both dissolving into vertical striped bands
A figure with head tilted back and eyes closed, one hand raised to the throat, wearing a beaded necklace and matching earring against a dark background
A figure with head fully tilted back, features lost in shadow, throat and necklace lit against a dark gradated background
A bearded profile silhouette, the head partly eclipsed by a large pale circle against a plain background
A closed fist reaches through fluted glass, fingers curling as the arm dissolves into fine vertical striped bands trailing into darkness
A hand rests against the ruched fabric of a dress, the arm bent at the elbow, grain and fabric texture rendered in fine detail
A hand and forearm emerge from a solid black circle, fingers curled, heavy film grain throughout the plain background
A hand and forearm cross a diagonal band of light and dark, dissolving into vertical striped bands as if seen through fluted glass
A head entirely wrapped and knotted in pale fabric, the face completely hidden beneath the twisted cloth, dark jacket visible at the shoulders
A wide-brimmed dark hat obscures a bare-shouldered figure's face entirely, one hand resting across the chest, solarised high-contrast lighting against a plain background
A veiled silhouette behind fluted glass, the head crowned by a dark rounded shape, the whole body broken into vertical bands against a pale background
A man in a striped shirt, tie and suit jacket, his face rendered as a vertical motion blur so no features are visible, hair in sharp focus above
A bearded man's profile rendered as a vertical motion blur, jacket collar in sharp focus below the dissolving features
A man in a light suit with arms crossed, his face reduced to a pale motion-blurred blank, tie and jacket in sharp focus
A bald figure seen from behind, both hands raised on either side of the head, palms open, silhouetted against a pale background
A man in a striped shirt and tie, his face streaked into a horizontal motion blur, hair and shoulders in sharp focus
A silhouetted head and shoulders in profile, partly eclipsed by a large pale circle of light against a plain background
A hand reaches toward a solid black circle, fingers curled as if brushing its edge, set against a plain pale background
A dark silhouette of shoulders and neck, the lower half cropped by a large pale circle against a plain grey background
A close abstract study of a torso curve, dark shadow meeting pale skin along a soft diagonal line, heavy film grain throughout
A face behind fluted glass framed by a raised hand above and a second hand pressed flat at the chest, the features breaking into vertical striped bands
A narrow sliver of a face glimpsed through fluted glass, one hand gripping the edge of the glass panel, the rest of the body dissolving into striped bands
A figure with a downward gaze and closed eyes, one hand raised to the jaw, an earring catching the light against a pale background
A profile portrait with head tilted back, hair swept off the face, neck and jaw lit against a dark background
An abstracted portrait with half the face left blank, a hand resting on the bare shoulder, the visible eye and mouth rendered in fine detail
A bald figure seen from behind, both hands raised high on either side of the head, palms open, against a soft grey background

Mackie Lines naît de The Grain Project. Pour le travail de rue antérieur, voir Human Trajectories. Les tirages et éditions sont répertoriés sous Tirages.