Background
Apart from finding and photographing the right moments and places Michel Lamoller is challenged by the right balance in ‘melting’ the figures with the environment, to make it subtle and intense at the same time.
Michel Lamoller was born in 1984 in the Black Forest in Southern Germany where he started doing art at the age of 16, taking walks in the hills and drawing landscapes or other natural structures. The idea of landscape is a central component in his artwork ever since. Currently he lives and works in Berlin. After an internship at Magnum Photos in New York, the artist decided to study photography, which he did at the Academy of Fine Arts of Hamburg. At some point Lamoller got frustrated by the reproductive nature of photography and started to look for other ways to deal with this beautiful media. The ideas for the works just turn up from personal experiences or very impressive spaces by always keeping an eye open for interesting structures, in cities, in nature, on textiles.
For him, the actual work starts after taking a photo and have them printed out. Then he cuts out pieces from each layer so that the upper layer uncovers a piece from the lower layer. He continues until the lowest layer appears. Then he starts again from the top correcting the cut-outs and so on, until it is finished. Apart from finding and photographing the right moments and places he feels that he is challenged the most by the right balance in ‘melting’ the figures with the environment, to make it subtle and intense at the same time.