5Q2 - Bastien Deschamps
Border rivers, poetry and Salgado – Bastien Deschamps, photographer from France and ICP alumnus, talked to us about his work, his influences and upcoming plans (January 20210).
In our format 5 questions to (5Q2), we talk to the artists of our Instagram takeovers.
Bastien Deschamps is a wandering photographer born in Paris/France in 1990. After working as a sound engineer, lighting designer and venue manager, he decided in 2015 to take the road and dedicate himself to photography full time. He mainly traveled through Russia, China, Japan, India, the Middle-East and the United States. His latest project, Where The Border Runs, will take him to five different boder rivers around the world.
In 2019 he graduated from the Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism program at the International Center of Photography (ICP).
FOTOTREFF: Did you encounter special problems while working on your project “Evros”?
Bastien Deschamps: The border [between Greece and Turkey] is a very tensed region at the moment with a huge military presence. I’ve been questioned and detained a couple of time by the police and the army. Nothing too serious though.
FT: Is there a photographer or artist who influenced you in a special way?
BD: I read a lot of poetry and I think the beautiful and horrific writing of the French poet Lautréamont had a lot of influences on my work.
FT: Which is the favourite photo book you own (or would like to own)?
BD: That’s really hard to choose only one but, I guess I would stick with a classic and say “Solitude of Ravens” by Masahisa Fukase.
FT: Is there any memorable photography exhibition that inspired you?
BD: About 7 years ago I went to see the exhibition of “Genesis” by Salgado in Paris. I remember being so impressed by the scale of this project, but more importantly I loved most of it, but also had very strong feelings against a part of the work. Which led to very interesting reflections and discussions about the role of the photographer.
FT: Apart from “Where the Border Runs”, what would you like to work on next?
BD: Honestly, I’m not sure. “Where the Border Runs: Tales from the River Sides” will take me at least 3 years to be completed and I’m not the kind of person who plans a lot ahead. I’m still working on my red thread project “Ecdemomania” and on the series “One Night Stand” on the side though.
Thank you very much, Bastien Deschamps.
To see more of Bastien Deschamps’ work, take a look at his Instagram channel (https://www.instagram.com/t.deschamps.photography/) and his website (https://bastiendeschamps.com/).
