In his new series Célestial, French photographer Vincent Ferrané explores emotional functioning through a visual journey into the realm of perception. The project draws inspiration from warm-up poses used in contortion practices. The graphic treatment of the contorted body, set against a mundane interior, transcends its ordinary context through the layering of multiple images captured during the shoot—images that are slightly different but similar enough to align along axes of symmetry, creating entirely new compositions.
The result oscillates between hypnotic patterns, Rorschach-like visuals, and a playful interplay where the center and periphery of the image appear deeply interconnected. As in the artist’s previous work Inner, the subject of a book published with Art Paper Editions (Inner, 2022), a female figure takes center stage. Here, the intimate space becomes a backdrop for a choreography structured into a rhythmic visual pattern.
This figure is Céleste, a professional dancer depicted as a supernatural, transformative presence in a kaleidoscopic exploration of the human body
Vincent Ferrané’s artistic approach foregrounds intimacy and space to create images which brim with human presence and evoke a plurality of everyday moments. From sensitive personal studies of bodies mixing artificial and natural light, to resonant editorial portraits expertly drawing out the natural luminosity of his models, Ferrané moves with ease between his personal and commissioned work, ritually finding a compelling balance between tension and tenderness in every subject he encounters.
Hailed by critics internationally, Ferrane’s work has featured in publications including The New Yorker, The British Journal of Photography, Wallpaper*, AnOther Magazine and Vanity Fair. His photographs have been exhibited or curated in institutions including the Deichtorhallen Hamburg House of Photography, The BnF ( Bibliothèque nationale de France), the Cnap ( Centre national des arts plastiques) and at the prestigious festival of photography, Les Rencontres d’Arles de la Photographie.
Ferrané is also known for making beautiful printed publications. His first monograph, Milkyway – a visual meditation on the shifting rhythms of his wife and child’s breastfeeding routine – was published in 2017. Since then, he has released four more books including Visitor (2018), a series of photographs of female artists in their studios, Iconography (2019) a moving photographer-model collaboration with French fashion icon Jeanne Damas, and Every-Day (2020), which celebrates the simple but identity-affirming joys of getting ready to go out for trans and non-binary people. His most recents books of photographs, Inner (2022) was published par Art Paper Edition and IRL Corps (2024), by Witty books.
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