We chat to photographer Fabrice Gagos about his recent exhibition Poetraits

What was the central theme or concept of the exhibition?
The idea for the project was to build images in collaboration with the poets, rather than simply take their portraits. I've been making portraits for the Nottingham poetry festival for three consecutive years, and will continue to do so, but I was also looking for a more thoughtful and cinematic way of creating images.

What was the inspiration behind the stylised portraits of poets from Nottingham Poetry Festival?
Well, without any pretension of getting near his work (and his budget!), the idea of building a more ‘cinematic’ scenery is inspired by the work of Gregory Crewdson. I don’t necessarily like everything he does, but approaching photography more like cinema is something that resonates with me for two reasons, one, because as a child I wanted to be a director, before realising I probably don’t have the social skills for this. And two, because right now everyone is a ‘photographer’, we almost all have a powerful camera in our pocket. So, the thought and time you’re putting in your work is, in my opinion, what makes a difference. The idea is always to try and create more signal than noise, which, I would admit has become increasingly difficult.

What message or emotion did you hope to convey through the exhibition?
I'd say... this is not my problem. In every creative work I've done I've never really thought about that. What’s important to me is enjoying the process and delivering the work with as much integrity as possible, after that this is out of my control. This is not my role to tell people what to feel about it, and from experience, hoping they will feel one way or another is just setting myself up to be disappointed. Of course, I hope people connect with my work in different ways and enjoy going through the exhibition, have a nice coffee and a nice time, but if not... well, too bad. I did have a good time and the people I worked with seemed to enjoy the process too, and I believe the final work is genuine and as good as it can be.

What was your creative process for this exhibition and did you approach it differently compared to your other projects? What did you enjoy most about working on your Poetraits series?
The creative process was widely different in that, for once, there was one. But if I have to pinpoint one main difference from other photography work it would be the time spent talking with people I was working with, building the connection with them and trying to create an image that represented them, as well as putting more thought about the location, props, and everything. It was definitely a collaborative work.

What photography medium do you prefer to use and what themes/genre do you enjoy most?
I'm shooting exclusively digital. I mean I have nothing against film, but I have neither the patience nor the budget to shoot with film, and to be very honest, it doesn't matter that much. I also feel like digital gives me a workflow with minimal attention to the technical part so I can focus on connecting with my subject. I don’t think I have a general theme, but I’m definitely working almost exclusively as a portrait photographer and with artists/creative people. I’m not connecting as well with the ‘general public’. That’s probably why I’m never considering having my own studio. 

This also brings me to work on location and having to think about using the environment as best as I could, which fits me well as I have a kind of DIY approach to my work. I’m always using my own lights as it gives more control (and more pleasure) but I also keep my set up as mobile, cheap and minimal as possible. Because of that, I have been rejected for some photography jobs just because my gear wasn’t deemed professional enough. For me it merely shows how disconnected we are sometimes from creativity and art… Am I ranting again?

Have you had any memorable reactions or feedback from viewers that you’d like to share?
Not from viewers, but from people I worked with. For some, creating an image connected to a theme made them think differently, probably more cautiously about their own work. Some found this inspiring to write more about a specific theme, or simply realise they’ve had one. I also have stories that I’m not sure are mine to share (maybe one day in another form), but this is definitely something that makes such a project worth doing.

What do you hope to explore in your future work? Do you have any upcoming projects or ideas in the pipeline?
I want to extend the Poetraits project and work with more poets and hopefully make a book out of this, with the images and accompanying texts if possible.

I also want to reproduce the experience with other creative people: writers, musicians, painters... around Nottingham and eventually, why not, around the UK. I also have another project that is still in an early stage, gathering my street photography from my first year as a photographer and around the idea that this is what made me connect with the city when I first arrived in the UK.

What this project made me realise is that I like having something that goes beyond creating an image and opens up the possibility of creating an event that brings creative people together. Poetraits can easily become a series of events with poetry performances, sound design and music for instance. Once again, this is probably inspired by having a more cinematic approach.

@fabrice.gagos