In “Portraits” of animals Vincent Lagrange (1988) the viewers recognize their friends and acquaintances, teachers and employees – such characters the Antwerp photographer reveals in the brothers of our lesser selves. Moreover, he insists that man has wrongly appointed himself king of nature. Whereas many of the species he portrays are stronger and have an older genealogical tree than we do.
At 22MUSE Gallery (founded by Francis Van Laer and his partners, like him graduates of the prestigious Sotheby’s Institute of Art), an exhibition celebrating the release of Lagrange’s photo book “Between Us” opened on November 23. The young man is a worthy successor to his father, the famous photographer Mark Lagrange, and works in his father’s studio. Lagrange Senior specialized in photographing people, especially female images – his beautiful b/w shots can be seen in the back of the gallery. His son took a different path – only animals, birds and insects fall into his lens. The word “portraits” is not an exaggeration, the personality of a hippopotamus and a sheep appears before us. However strange it may sound. The photographer shows us that they love and suffer, are jealous and quarrel. How elephants, for example, understand the finitude of our lives. Looking into their eyes, you realize that man “humanized” animals, in a large number of cases, to have them without moral torment – eaten.
It sounds strange to shoot a hippopotamus “studio portrait”. Vincent reveals the secrets of a creative process that takes many days and could be called meditative:
“My goal is not so much to photograph animals, but to capture the emotional life and soul of these beautiful creatures and put my own meaning into it. In this way I hope to emphasize the strong affinity between our species and the rest of the animal kingdom. To avoid distractions, I shoot these animals in a studio setting, which requires considerable preparation. On location, we build several temporary studios equipped with clean, hand-painted backgrounds and a sophisticated, minimalistic lighting system that focuses all attention on the person in front of the lens. Training is tailored to the specific and varied needs of each animal. A secretary bird requires a different approach than a gorilla. During this process, I develop a personal connection with the animal I am photographing – a connection I strive to share with you through my photographs.”
Animals are not easy subjects. It is important to gain their trust and create the right conditions to make them feel comfortable and accustomed to new smells and surroundings. Biologists and veterinarians, shelters and zoos such as Pairi Daiza that care for animals help the photographer to do this. To all of them Vincent is very grateful.
“Between Us” contains 150 portraits and gallery 22MUSE is waiting for you at Oudaan 22 in the heart of Antwerpen.