Laurent Spadotto

Tempo is a diptych, an ongoing project containing 2 distinct series. Different but complementary. I'm working on these 2 collections in parallel. They can be exhibited together or separately. 

The photo sent in response to the question ‘Is reality enough?’ is a part of the second series. 

The first part is going to take a long time to produce because I want to produce it in several cities in Europe and the UK. Tempo means Time in Esperanto, a universal language. So it's about speed, movement, disappearance... and History. 

I'm going to visit several cities at specific times because I want to capture huge crowds at traditional, annual celebrations. These are key moments in the life and history of a city or country. For a moment, people come together to take part in these historic festivities, which are markers of time and history. Traditions. They come back every year, just as we are about to disappear. 

The architecture of cities is also important in this series. I want to highlight the majestic streets and monuments that have been there for years or centuries and that will outlive us all. They are witnesses to History. 

For example, I've already booked my next destinations. I'm going to : 

• Berlin at the beginning of October for Unity Day
   
• Rome on 1st November for All Saint's Day (and 2025 is particularly special as it's a jubilee year for the Catholic Church),
   
• Prague in December for its renowned Christmas markets,
   
• And my trip for the 2026 Venice Carnival is booked too. 

Other cities are also on my list (London, Belfast, Budapest, Vienna, Porto, Barcelona, etc...) , but my budget isn't unlimited (I don't have any sponsors or patrons), so for now, I don't know where this project will take me... but I'm going for it! Tempo will also be accompanied by a second part, which I'm working on while waiting to visit these cities. 

 The aesthetic approach of the second series of this diptych is different. I like to try and paint with my camera. To go further than reality, which is not enough for me. If I want to look at reality, I don't need a camera, my eyes are enough. I draw inspiration from my 2 favourite aesthetic movements, pictorialism and expressionism. At the end of the 19th century, the pictorialists gave photography recognition as a form of artistic expression. These artists did not use photography as a means of documenting reality... but as a means of personal, sensitive expression. We owe a great deal to these photographers, who broke the rules! 

This series is also influenced by expressionist painting, for much the same reasons. 

The intentional camera movements allow me to distort time, shapes... and therefore reality. It's a way for me to express my personal feelings and emotions. And to avoid the frustration of the first part of the series, which required a lot of time, research and preparation.