Charles Fréger
Yokainoshima - Island Of Monsters
PHOTOGRAPHY IN OPEN SPACE
SEASON 2018/2019 – Portrait, hors cadre Part I
Jardin du Bra’haus II, Montée du Château, Clervaux

Ogres, spirits, ghosts or demons.
In Japan, myths and folklore have survived since ancient times and into the present. Every fantastic or supernatural creature is attributed to a class called “yōkai".

Owing to the geological nature of the archipelago, the Japanese people are particularly exposed to the creative and destructive forces of the natural elements. The population is particularly attuned to Nature’s rhythm and has maintained specific ties to the primary forces. The belief in mythical and irrational phenomena has had its place in the culture of mankind for millennia.
Some events elude human understanding; the gap is filled by emotions and imagination. This opens a door to parallel worlds, helping to explain inexplicable things, to overcome life’s trials and tribulations, or to seek supernatural protection for the future. These beings, called upon for protection and support, manifest themselves in changing and masked forms, their character and nature ambiguous. Some apparitions are frightening, others inspire respect, others still are adored and solicited for their mercy and their empathy. Celebrated in the rites and traditions of rural folklore, the Yōkai have become popular during festivals and seasonal ceremonies.

The French photographer Charles Fréger has taken an interest in their effigy. To take their portrait, he places them in an original environment drawn from his imagination: a landscape chosen specially to support an expressive posture and choreographed gestures. He focuses on the visual potential of his motifs: "I am not an anthropologist," he says. “[…] It would be much too easy to say we are all the same."
Neither the same, nor accompanied or haunted by one and the same Yōkai.

(Text : AM, Clervaux – cité de l’image / English translation by Nadia Linden)

Charles Fréger was born in 1975 in Bourges (F) and is based in Rouen. The French photographer focuses exclusively on portrait photography, exploring its creative potential based on the study of uniforms and costumes, always within their professional, traditional or cultural context. Fréger questions the status of the individual at the heart of a community and within society. Between autonomous individual and anonymous element integrated in a group, his portraits take on the most diverse forms.
Charles Fréger is the founder of the international artist network POC (Piece of Cake).

www.charlesfreger.com/
www.pocproject.com/