INK•TREE editions from Küsnacht (in Switzerland) sent me a little catalogue of their upcoming editions. This by itself would probably not be too much of an event, however one of the Artists featured is one of my absolute favorites, the photographer Jean-Luc Mylayne.
Mylayne takes pictures of small wild birds in their habitat. He takes portraits of these birds Birds. Each picture is a well crafted character study. Mylayne knows his subject very well he does not use Telephoto lenses, he befriends the birds. (I am not kidding.) Mylayne travels mainly through France and it often takes him several months to shoot a single picture. He takes great care to study the personality of the birds he chooses to take pictures of. He then wins their trust, befriends them, gets close enough to use his bifocal lens. And shoots pictures from a distance that must be in the range of just a few inches. The Images feel private, the birds have an immense dignity in them, it is amazing work. He has so far shot less than 200 Photographs.
Mylayne apparently spent the last two years taking pictures of The Great Titmouse and of himself, in an Ultimate Mirror Project challenge. The edition offered by ink•tree are four diptychs. Each Diptych shows one panel with a portrait of a Great Titmouse and the second panel with a self portrait of the Artist himself as a reflection in the retina of the bird subject. What extreme closeness of the artist and model. Recorded with Lenses built by Mylayne himself.
The Edition offered are 4x2 Photographs, mounted on 1mm Aluminum 100mmx50cm, in a yellow cloth-bound box, Edition of 12, signed and numbered.
The Price CHF10,000.-/€6,890.-, somewhere around $7000.-
I love the portraits of the birds Scroll down for an example of a sparrow. The Mirror project part of the Diptychs does not intrigue me as much however. I hope there is a way to find a print somewhere that is just a simple print of a bird, no self-portrait of Mylayne included. I hope Barbara Gladstone Gallery has a tiny, simple print available maybe?. I missed my chance to purchase a piece in Parkett, as seen here and even as a QTVR.
Oh, and it is quite difficult to find information about Mylayne, so here is at least a Jean-Luc Mylayne Biography. Thank you.