Laurent Castellani is a photographer and videographer from Nantes and originally from La Rochelle, in France. After studying at law school and at graphic design school, this artist began his professional career in a studio as a web and graphic digital designer in the luxury sector, a profession he will practice as a freelance since 2003. It was not until 2016 that he invested in photo/video equipment with the personal objective of making 2 films per year. In 2017, thanks to his video projects, his Instagram account gained in popularity. Besides that, he takes photographs inspired by the world of fashion and femininity.
The public enthusiasm ? Laurent owes it thanks to his Mulholland photo series, created in August 2018. Many commercial brands then contact him to collaborate with him. Collaborations that he gives up for some of them because of his agoraphobia (fear of places where it would be difficult or embarrassing to escape or to be rescued).
Disgusted with the fashion industry, which he considers too stereotypical and « bad » for the planet, Laurent creates minimalist portraits of female models filled with simplicity, beauty and neutrality. « Fashion is ruining the planet, it is ridiculous from a moral and ethical point of view. It’s stereotypical, it’s not a legend. We only produce beautiful images to the detriment of many things… Femininity represents strength and beauty. Women are stronger than men, in my opinion. » he tells us. « I don’t like the image of handsome and narcissistic model guys. I’m more commuters who don’t pay attention to them. » he adds. The artist plays on natural light to bring softness to these shots, he sometimes likes to make them dreamlike by using small details and contradictions such as nudity, clothes from other eras, blur, primary color lights… He avoids the superfluous. To do this, he usually « crops » at 80% his shots to keep only the essentials.
His future projects ? He quotes them to us : « My project is to make a film inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. Four guys who meet at home to prepare a robbery. 100% testosterone ! I also plan to release a 112-page book in late October-early November, normally, if the post covid-19 situation allows, presenting a series of photos of different strange places in Nantes in which I stage models. » he said. Can’t wait !
