Beautiful: Sylvain Norget, The Dark Knight of France

IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT TAKING PHOTOS IS ACTUALLY A COWARDLY WAY OF EXPOSING YOURSELF WITHOUT REALLY TAKING THE RISK OF PUTTING YOURSELF IN THE SPOTLIGHT. IF THAT IS TRUE, WE WONDER, WHERE DOES THAT PLACE SYLVAIN NORGET. HE PLAYS A BIG PART IN HIS OWN SCENES, SHOW A LOT BUT NOT ALL. ALL TOGETHER, SYLVAIN IS NOT AFRAID TO BE REVEALED AS THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK.

Sylvain Norget seems to live his life as he takes his self portraits. He spends time in Bordeaux, Toulouse and Paris, so when you think you have him in one place, he is already on his way to the other. In his art he is the same. When he takes photographs of himself, he is in the picture but there is always something hidden.

You probably already know him. After having worked as a model himself, Sylvain Norget changed place behind the camera and developed himself as a skilled artistic photographer. Conceptual and creative as he is, he often uses himself for his most intriguing and daring artistic expressions. Having suffered from leporiphobia - the fear for rabbits - Sylvain self medicated himself by placing himself in all kinds of situations, wearing not much more then a rabbit mask. The series of portraits he created with this concept has given him international aknowledgment, and has resulted in a book publication, The Naked Rabbit Project, and inclusion in our own anthology BeautifulVision. And while the world still enjoys his rabbit portraits, Sylvain already moved on with two more projects.

Inspired by his all time hero Batman and, doubtless, by the success of his The Naked Rabbit Project, Sylvain decided to dive deeper in the concept of masks. What do they stand for? What do they hide? And what do they provoke. MASKS is the title of his latest series of self portraits, in which Sylvain explores every possible way to hide from the eyes of others. Not just with actual masks, but also with the art of make up and the emotional veil of attitude. A brilliant concept and beautiful work that has already resulted in becoming one of the winners of the Transfiguration Contest that was organized earlier this year by Blipoint.

More than that, Sylvain Norget also further developed his series of naked portraits of, yes, himself. Sometimes funny, sometimes intimate, sometime bizarre. Always tasteful. Always artistic and always Sylvain Norget. Nudes, the new gallery by Sylvain Norget, that can be admired on a special designated blog, is without doubt another highlight in the photographic career of this talented French artist. –B-