Ella Bats, photographer of matter

A 2017 graduate of the Bachelor Photographe et Vidéaste program, Ella Bats is a photographic artist. Her work with matter, close to painting, exploits the capabilities of retouching by superimposing, multiplying and merging different layers of layers.

Her work has recently been exhibited at La Samaritaine, the MAP Festival and the Tranoï showroom at the Palais Brongniart, and she was a finalist for the Prix Picto de la Photographie de Mode in 2021.

Her "Song Blues" series was published in the anniversary issue of Fisheye, celebrating the magazine's 10th anniversary in June 2023.

I began by assisting photographers in fashion, portraiture and still life to confirm my skills, gain a better understanding of the world of work and give myself time to develop an image that was entirely my own.

At the same time, I entered a number of competitions. I won the Prix Jeune Talent des Agent Associés, and was a finalist in the Villa Noailles de Hyères and the Picto de la mode awards.

These nominations enabled me to create a monumental installation for the Bourse du Commerce via the TRANOI show, and to be exhibited at the Samaritaine and the Ellia ART GALLERY.

Ella Bats - exhibition at la Samaritaine

I chose fashion photography for the themes and commitment that can be hidden behind a garment. It allows you to tell a story through bodies and settings, and to surround yourself with talented teams who build and grow the image.

Portrait photography appealed to me for its intimate side, for encounters, the present, the moment.

And I can't live without art. It's vital for me.

Ella Bats- Installation Bourse du commerce

I began by letting go and letting my unconscious wander over the medium, like a meditative act. Then I destroyed the image to build it up, discover it, shake it up, disturb it.

In reaction to the increasingly consumerist world in which we live, I like to give the eye a chance to rest, to take the time to look or to question. To achieve this, we need to destructure and shift the norms.

With the aim of disrupting the photographic medium, I enjoy taking it outside its frame,working with new printing or exposure materials to question the limits of photography.

My work is based on studies and research that draw their references from dance, music, cinema, painting, photography and many other arts. It's important to feed your unconscious when you're creating.

Ella Bats - exhibition at the Ellia Art Galery

It's hard to say, because each project is based on a different emotion, present and questioning.

On the other hand, I never expected my " Adam et Adam " project to be such a success!

More recently, I shot a video clip for the committed artist Paul Loiseau, and the emotion that comes out of a shoot is immense. It's a collaborative encounter, and you have to play the role of orchestra conductor, understanding and listening to the other person.

Ella Bats - Quazar Commission

I regularly question the feelings, emotions and auras that spring from people. I get closer to the ghosts that inhabit us. With "Song Blues", I worked on the unspoken and the invisible language, on what emanates and transpires from within.

In collaboration with Taan Doan (Hair) and Marie Dufresne (Make-up), we developed a process using phosphorescent materials and ultraviolet light applied to a dancer to express different emotions.

Ella Bats "Song Blues

In my opinion, for the time being, the arrival of AI means that images are very smooth and "in conformity with perfection". I see it as a tool to help the image, but not to replace the creator.

I learned the technical basics and made friends and professional acquaintances who helped me build my first network in the industry when I left school.

Ella Bats "Adam Adam

The encounter with light, the surprise it brings to art. Concepts for projects to be realized. The journey with others. The participants. The problems to be solved. The messy thoughts. Chance. Exchanging ideas. Poetry fusions. And other interlocking odds and ends.

To believe in the flame that runs through us, to preserve it and to go for it!