Between Dog and Wolf

My second monograph ‘Between Dog and Wolf' was published to coincide with the exhibition at the V&A, 'Twilight: Photography in The Magic Hour’. The title was drawn from a previous exhibition title referring to the French expression, 'Entre Chien et Loup', a term used for twilight.

This new publication brings together works made between 2003-06; the photographs were taken in forests in France, Germany, Finland and Japan during the hours of twilight. The forest is a fascinating place; one can feel attracted to its grandeur, or scared by its depth and darkness. This space of immensity echoes our childhood memories, through fairy-tale or play. Walking to the forest of my childhood in France, after many years, I remembered when we used to build a hut, and slowly the light would disappear, and darkness would surround us. The excitement of being inside this small shelter, protected by the large trees, overturned our fears, and instead we felt protected.

Chrystel Lebas

Research Interests

Photography; Pinhole Camera; Film; Video

Profile

Chrystel Lebas graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1997. Her work has been exhibited extensively at international level - with recent shows in London, Paris, Cracow, Prague and Tokyo. She is represented in the permanent collection of the Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris, the Citibank Collection, London and several private and corporate collections.

Lebas' first book 'Time in Space' received the British Book Design and Production Award 2004 and was exhibited at the Rencontres d' Arles Book award the same year. It brings together six related bodies of work, created with the use of a variety of photographic tools and formats, and features nocturnal landscapes made on a rotating-lens panoramic camera with exposure times of between two and six hours. The largest body of work - 'Azure' - was shown at the Photographers' Gallery in 2002.

Lebas recently published her second monograph entitled 'Between Dog and Wolf' (2006, The Photographers' Gallery) - a translation of the French expression for twilight that suggests its transformative and dangerous potential. It features a new series of photographs entitled 'Blue Hour', which include images from a bluebell forest in Wiltshire, England. The photographs form part of a larger series taken in France, Germany, Spain and Japan between 2003 and 2006.

In 2006 the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibited new work by Lebas as part of the exhibition 'Twilight: Photography in The Magic Hour'. Recent solo exhibitions include 'Time in Space: Azure', an exhibition of panoramic photographs at Hug Gallery for International Photography in Amsterdam in 2004, and 'Blue Hour' - solo exhibition at The Photographers' Gallery, London, in 2006.