Séléné (2023)
Paul Cupido
Entitled Séléné in tribute to the goddess of the moon, Paul Cupido’s residency at Château Palmer offers an extremely sensitive vision of the terroir. The images feature a succession of circles, phosphorescence, and shimmering, shifting from a dreamlike herbarium to a canopy of clouds that seem to connect the beauty of the earth with the mystery of cosmic forces. An invitation to open our eyes, stark and tenacious, and observe the ineffable all around.
Credits: All images © Paul Cupido for the INSTANTS residency, Château Palmer and Leica, 2022
Nothing is as existential as the moon. The moon controls ebb and flow, the tides. When seeing the moon, I feel connected to the ones I love. It is a romantic symbol of bond and eternity.
I believe that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
I listened closely to the place with all senses fully open. I strongly live with the philosophy that the work should write and dictate itself. By listening to the ‘Sense of Place’, learning what the place wants my work to be.
PAUL CUPIDO
There is no greater challenge for a photographer than to archive the invisible.Paul Cupido works delicately, seeking out the elusive and eternal beauty of nature, capturing the light of the moon on petals or skin. These sensitive, melancholic, existential images shine their light from New York to Zurich – where he is regularly exhibited – and in his books such as Searching for Mu (2017) and Éphémère (2019). This intuitive, perfectionist photographer has a passion for Japan, and his desire to understand and embrace nature exudes from his work, which is inspired by his native island of Terschelling and the connection its inhabitants have with nature. Paul Cupido is represented by the Bildhalle gallery in Amsterdam and Zurich.
Biography
The works resulting from Paul Cupido's residency were exhibited at the Leica Store Paris Village Royal in spring 2023, and were published in the artist's book Séléné (2023), by Filigranes Éditions.
These works are now distributed by the gallery Bildhalle, which represents Paul Cupido.