Photographer Julien Che is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘Descent’. To see Julien’s body of work, click on any photograph.

Away from the living world, anonymous, it’s in a Parisian underground that the woodlice group finds its freedom and creative space. Sculptors and photographers join forces to bring the capital’s load-bearing walls to life. The photographs are the only witnesses to the sculptures, abandoned to their own fate on the faces of the old stone quarries.

The sculptors do not prepare their work in advance; the research is done in situ using the direct carving process, without any drawings or preliminary models. The natural relief of the stone, brought to life by the light of the candles, offers a glimpse of shapes and forms – an infinite source of imagination. The figures depicted are intended to be timeless, like the site itself.

The photographs document this work and immortalize the sculptures. In these shots, the light, contrasts and colors guide the viewer’s eye towards the essential: the expression of the material.

Somewhere between cave art, counter-culture and photography, this project highlights the material and the technique, going against the grain of conceptual art.

Julien Che lives in Saint-Denis (France) and works between Paris and Savoy. After graduating with a degree in Art History and a Master's in Photography in 2017 (ENS Louis-Lumiere), with a research dissertation on the representations in photography and video of the act of creation, he began a career as a studio photographer specialized in still life. This professional experience enabled him to build up a personal practice based on the traces revealed by matter, with an eye for abstraction. At the same time, he is interested in the visual memory of the landscape, documenting it through an aesthetic that focuses on forms and textures. This work is rooted in the practice of film photography, which follows the rhythm of the sun and the seasons.

All images and text © Julien Che