Manon De Pauw
Épreuves (Spectre no 7)

2009

Manon De Pauw started experimenting with photograms in the same period as her series L’apprentie, working simultaneously with two diametrically opposed processes. While L’apprentie was made using a sophisticated digital camera, her Épreuves (proofs) series was created in total darkness, without a camera, using nothing more than the light emitted from the enlarger on which she had laid photographic paper. Auras and dim spectral imprints emerge from the interplay of refracted light coming into contact with the objects placed on a photosensitive surface. In this series, De Pauw has created her own interpretation on the aesthetics of light, making each image entirely unique. Each impression is the result of a gestural ritual undertaken in darkness, leaving behind only one-of-a-kind proofs. The creative process may appear repetitive, with the variant being the role of chance and the unknown.