Michael Flomen: I did not want to photograph the event

Light is his brush. In this interview, photographer Michael Flomen talks to us about his practice, which draws on nature to constantly evolve and transform. 

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Zoé Isle de Beauchaine: Michael Flomen, how did you come to this very particular approach?

Michael Flomen: Around 1999, early summer I was sitting outside watching the night fall and the fireflies started their mating dance in the field below me by the pond. I wanted to capture their light on film but knew right away that I did not want to photograph the event. I prepared an  experiment to see if the bioluminescent would expose photographic film... It did and that started a dialogue and collaboration with Nature, with camera less approaches. By chance, by being present and curious of what was possible.

ZB: Have you added any new elements into your work since this film?

MF: Yes, each photogram work I make informs how I will approach the next work and things that reveal themselves in those works that attract me are part of my mark making in the  new works. Currently I am working in the marine environment and the intense energy and memories of the sea.
 

ZB: After working in the field, do you rework the print and if so, how?

MF: When I make photograms directly on photographic paper there are no real adjustments to  make outside of developing times. When I make works on large format film, these results  are translated into prints and in that process there are adjustments made in light orchestration and certainly the size of the prints. 

ZB: Has the increasing ‘light pollution’ had an impact on your work over time? 

MF: Yes. There are areas where I worked that are now too bright due to light pollution. Also  natural waters are also very acidic due to pollution and that affects my materials.

Interview conducted in December 2024
The photos are taken from the film Under the Cover of Darkness
directed in 2008 by André Cornellier