the pages of a book have that inherent power to immerse us in a city either culture long before we conceive of the journey of our dreams. Bearing this visual journey in mind, the new book of the collection FashionEye 2021 of Sao Paulo , -photographed by Alexander Furcolin In collaboration with Louis Vuitton —, it has been proposed to plot the coordinates of a distinctive dip in the brazilian metropolis.
Guy Bourdin and Miami, Helmut Newton and Monte Carlo, Jeanloup Sieff and Paris, are just some of the alliances that were part of Fashion Eye , a series that has been responsible for highlighting regions or an entire country through the eyes of a fashion photographer . And, on this occasion, the incandescent, energetic and disobedient dialogue has originated thanks to the portraits of Alexander Furcolin.
Born in 1988, since he was little Alexander felt a remarkable interest in natural phenomena and the intrinsic magic of it. Both the Photography , like drawing and painting, served as powerful resources for him to outline his own chronicle of the world. “When I moved to Sao Paulo , I was able to find materials and study, and connect with the artistic scene . So I started self-publishing photo books and made exhibitions and installations”, he says. Alexander Furcolin to Conde Nast Traveler.
On the vision of Alexandre Furcolin in São Paulo.
The young brazilian photographer was installed in Sao Paulo At seventeen, and organically, he began his artistic work with designers, art directors, stylists, and models. “My first commissioned fashion job was in 2016, when Igi Ayedun, an artist and creative director, liked a juxtaposition of images that he was making in an exhibition, and he proposed to me experience different languages in the field , opening myself up to a new perspective of visual possibilities.”
Focusing on the fashion and art photography in free narratives that feed off each other all the time, his work has led him to collaborate with the Brazilian editions of Vogue, L'Officiel Y Under Pressure, while also being the author of several books, including Tangerine by Editions Bessard. Until in 2019 his editor, Pierre Bessard, presented his work to the editorial team of Louis Vuitton.
"From my point of view It was a very risky proposition. since they were based on a more fluid use of the image. The Louis Vuitton team liked it a lot, and I started working on the project.”
without hierarchies, vivid colors and intertwined lines are amalgamated in the artist's own idiosyncrasy, with a dialogue that unites the city and nature, the wild and the sophisticated, as well as the personal and the social in a canvas that intends to reflect the beauty and chaos that surround him in the book Fashion Eye.
Fashion Eye book by Alexandre Furcolin.
What does photography mean to you?
A language that portrays time in a very specific way.
Of all the reports you have done in the past, which one reflects your aesthetic as a photographer?
I think I keep changing and evolving the ways of use photographic language , depending on the theme, atmosphere, and other factors for a given book or installation. But I perceive a common energy that runs through all my work, a desire to transmit a certain glimmer of vitality, to get closer to something more essential.
For example, when I started in photography , I was interested in the relationship between time and space, observing natural phenomena through long time frames. The most recent works use a more spontaneous, dynamic and fragmented photographic language. Some are based on a strong flash and saturated colors.
What were those first years in São Paulo like when you were a teenager? How has that connection to the city changed or intensified since then?
At seventeen I moved to Sao Paulo and I connected more with the contemporary scene. By then, Sao Paulo was exactly what I expected: an extremely seductive, chaotic, exciting , fast, full of people that offered an infinite hub of possible connections, eclectic, with an effervescent night scene and powerful cultural movements.
Now, unfortunately, year after year, and due to a deceitful way of governing, we see that the funds and the interest in culture are reduced in Sao Paulo and in everything Brazil , so the artists of all kinds fight even harder to get it.
Alexandre Furcolin's vision is reflected in each of the pages.
What do you think is the story that the pages are telling the world?
They lend themselves to different interpretations. But I think that in general the vitality, the energy and the aesthetic power of the people from all over the world who inhabit and create a city of their own, within Sao Paulo , beneath their concrete layers. His own version of the city that does not exclude those created by others.
You have photographed all over São Paulo. Could you describe what the book reveals about the culture and the people, and also about your own view of Saint Paul?
Sao Paulo it is a vibrant and varied metropolis that is very difficult to summarize. I think it is only possible to offer your perspective on it, based on the parts of the city that you know.
I realize that one of the main factors contributing to the unique identity of Sao Paulo , to its matchless vitality and its pleasures, are people from all parts of Brazil , Latin America, Africa and from all over the world who live in this place and interact with each other in countless ways, giving rise to new and unimaginable spaces and opportunities.
The result is an intense cauldron of creation. São Paulo is a melting pot of people from different strata and social and cultural origins , which interact and mix in various ways.
Fashion Eye, Alexandre Furcolin.
In what aspect did you work in editing and post-production with the team?
I liked the results that I had achieved in Panta-Rhei (São Paulo, 2018) by combining different languages. This irresolute approach to images seemed to me a good starting point to portray the fragmentation and heterogeneity of São Paulo. It is a language still in a state of formation for a city itself in transformation.
I selected a large group of images, started the mockup with the works and possible sequences, and shared them with the Louis Vuitton and Pierre team. Then we started to develop multiple versions, in a very fluid method, although long and complex. were necessary nearly two years of hectic editing, shooting, scanning and printing, to get to the final version.
How does it feel to have your own book in a series where Helmut Newton and Peter Lindbergh have theirs?
It is an honor to be together with peers masters of photographic language , some of which I have been studying and following for years. I was very surprised and happy with the invitation, and knew that I had to develop a strong body of work.