© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

Tell us about the project “La Dakar - Saint-Louis” among the winners of Urbanautica Institute Awards 2021? What is the motivation and the theme you addressed?

Thomas Jorion (TJ): During a passage on this abandoned railway line in 2015, I felt a great narrative force. I decided to make it a project. I made two stays there in 2019 and 2022. This project brings together two themes that are strong for me: the railway and disused places. But it also fulfills a need that I felt rising in me: to photograph humans. I therefore treated this subject by putting into perspective the expectation and the passage of time. All these people live and dwell around these stations and tracks waiting for a return of rail traffic that will certainly never return.

What are the practical difficulties you faced in its development? What choices guided to the final portfolio?

TJ: Some places, although disused, are nevertheless kept, which requires complex authorizations to obtain. Apart from that, with a good ability to adapt, I did not encounter any particular difficulties for the realization of this project. I approached the portfolio as a narrative journey along this line to depict architectural and human encounters.

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

How does this work fit in your identity statement as a photographer and if relates any with your previous works?

TJ: We find the themes of the urban, the passage of time and the trace of the human on its built and non-built environment. These are the themes that have always touched me. My previous work ‘Vestiges d’empire’ is a collection of landscapes, portraits of places, architectural views, but also testimonials, vanities of the history of the French colonial empire.

Tell us about your approach to photography in general. How did it all start?

TJ: It all started when I crossed my interests about photography and visiting lost places. I was offered a SLR camera in 1996-1997 when I was 20-21 years old. I didn’t overthink too much my approach to photography. I cannot remember my first photo, but my second or third roll of film was dedicated to an abandoned castle I knew nearby my place. Thanks to that camera, I reconnected with the inner pleasures, and the thrill of the moment of being in a specific environment and smell the recluse space. I found myself documenting those kinds of spaces, and realized that before I was simply a passive voyeur. I was seduced by this new interest, and started playing with lights and other technical parameters, as well as new constraints that came up to spice up my new game later on.

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

What about your educational path?

TJ: I studied law without much conviction and without seeing an alternative. This taught me rigor and no doubt a form of analysis. I learned a lot working in private companies before becoming a professional photographer in 2009.

What are the themes that interest you, what generally attracts your observation?

TJ: My work focuses on the passage of time and its consequences. I play with the lights and colors that I find in situ. I think that the use of a large format camera and film conveys the feeling of tranquility, and give warmth to the images that seem to be inhabited. My photos are not an instant of time but an instant in time. And I am interested in men and women on whom we can read stories, destinies.

From a methodological point of view, what is your approach to the medium? How do you envision or conceptualize the projects?

TJ: I like projects that have strong visuals. I don’t like projects that are too conceptual because it leads to results that are too elitist or incomprehensible for the majority. When I have determined a subject, I like to let myself be guided by my eye and my feelings.

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

Do you privilege any camera or process in particular? Tell us about your equipment …

TJ: I prefer the large format camera or the medium format depending on what I have to photograph. I’ve always loved the film, but it’s especially the 4/3 ratio that I’m very attached to.

Does research play any significant role in your practice?

TJ: It depends on the projects. For the one on the architecture of the former French colonies (“Vestiges d’empire”, Éditions de La Martinière, 2016) I spent a lot of time in books and on maps. For others I am much more on the ground. The scenario in which photography is presented and discussed have changed considerably in recent years with the spread of ICT and the digital world.

How do you relate to social networks and this expanded field of photography?

TJ: For my photographic creation, it didn’t change much. For the diffusion of this one I find it difficult to make the difference between the illusion that my work is visible (social media) and reality. My personal experience (but everyone has their own) remains very attached to the physical reality of meetings for the presentation of my work (physical meeting with collectors, gallery owners, publishers). But I’m sure for some it made a big difference. It’s not easy to pursue the authorial path, it requires time, energy and resources.

What strategies do you adopt?

TJ: I approached this profession with the idea that I was going to do a distance race and not a sprint. And I also know that I couldn’t do anything else in life. So I hang on to give the best and I try to find a balance between creation and financing.

Any interesting books that you recommend and that recently inspired you and why?

TJ: I looked a lot at the book “Ghana” by Denis Dailleux. For me it is a reference in the mastery of the portrait. Otherwise I have just finished “The Tartar Steppe” by Dino Buzzati, I found many links with my project there. It is also a very good life lesson on waiting.

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

How important it is to showcase your work. What about exhibitions or other forms? Any tips or experience to share?

TJ: I think of my projects from the start as books. It changes the way I photograph the subject and better prepares it for presentation. The passage to the exhibition is all the more simple afterwards.

Who or what does influence your work in particular? Is there any contemporary artist, photographer or writer you’d like to quote or mention?

TJ: I started photography without any reference or knowledge. I really like photographic books which helps to develop my culture. But above all it’s cinema that inspired me a lot, David Lynch, Ridley Scott. For photo books, I want to cite “Subway” by Bruce Davidson and “A View” by Toshio Shibata.

How do you see the future of photography evolving?

TJ: I am happy because photography is not a fixed or aging medium. On the contrary, I find it in constant renewal. Between new techniques and revisited old ones, I find that the field of possibilities is infinite. I will never be bored because I also develop projects on other supports such as concrete for example.

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis”

And do you have any projects in the pipeline? Or topics you would like to address?

TJ: I finished shooting the project on the line “Dakar, Saint-Louis” which will surely change its name because I have expanded the project on the second line of Senegal. I am working on the portfolio with the new photos in order to present the project to publishers, gallery owners, etc.

© Thomas Jorion from the series “La Dakar - Saint-Louis” 

Thomas Jorion (website)
Winner Urbanautica Institute Awards 2021