Bio
Alexandre Manuel
Alexandre Manuel was born in 1979 in France, in the Franche-Comté region bordering Switzerland, and now lives in Portugal.
Holding a doctorate in Visual Semiotics (specialising in press photography) and the title of university assistant professor awarded by the French Ministry, Alexandre Manuel chose to devote his life to photography.
On his first journey outside Europe, to Brazil, at the age of 18, he discovered the beauty of photographic art. With his rucksack on his back, Alexandre began to record the urban landscapes of São Paulo, discovering the wonders hidden on every street corner. He thus fell in love with photography, which became his means of expression.
With exhibitions in France and in Portugal, Alexandre divides his work into two sections: the first strand is made up of landscapes in colour, representing the beauty of the Portuguese coastline and of the countries he travels through; the second strand, named “paisagens invisíveis”, opens the way to the world of black and white, in which the artist prefers to leave generous room for the brightness and softness of the tones in order to bring out what he considers to be the essence of the landscape.
In a pared-down style, Alexandre’s works question the status and the limits of landscape. Through long-exposure and high-key techniques, these records of nature heighten the tension that exists between absence and presence, between man and his place in nature, between the natural evolution of the landscape and its permanence in our lives. The perspectives, the long exposures and the right atmospheric conditions make it possible to create spaces that are almost pure, serene and peaceful, in which the framing lets our imagination drift beyond the horizon. Obsessed with temporality, Alexandre tries to anchor what is by nature fleeting: the line of time.
