Exposition du Lavoir Vasserot - Hugues Bertin - Fragments de serre et d’acier

In the fascinating field of contemporary art, Hugues Bertin stands out for his singular approach and artistic vision. Born in Bretagne, in 1975, of a father passionate about photography, and of a mother contemplating and dreaming in front of the landscapes that surround her; no more was needed to make him want to freeze these moments of life, intoxicating details, sweet witnesses of the past.

From a working class background, his father was a slaughterhouse technician in Bretagne and his grandfather was an operator in blast furnaces in Lorraine, the desire to witness to the visible trace of man’s passage, of these forgotten times, becomes an engine of his artistic thoughts. He now lives on the shores of the mediterranean, in union with the enchanting maritime atmosphere.

There he met three passionate friends like him from urbex and the working world. From their encounters on these sites, they created an association called “Les défricheurs.13”. Working in the Var, he explores abandoned greenhouses and in contact with the owners, he was able to photograph them. In front of the beauty of the glasses and before they disappear forever, he decides to recover these materials to enhance them by printing his photographs to make his own contemporary works of art. Creating his works by recovering the glass and its skeleton was his first idea, but the structure was far too fragile and it was not aesthetic enough. The creation of a steel frame was necessary to protect this glass and restore the environment from which it originated.

He focuses most of his photographic research on the traces of man’s passage that fade over time : abandonment, oblivion and materials that decompose copying with natural elements. All within an atmosphere that is indispensable to him: «the marine universe». His creations are unique, they are born of these materials with compromised destiny, of the materialization of his imagination, of his obstinacy and of the patience necessary to transform a simple idea into a successful artistic identity. His photographic and artistic works are the result of his family and human inspirations, embraced by the material, engraved in texture, reinforced by steel and coloured by life.