After studying at Montpellier and Marseille art schools Jean Baptiste worked in publishing while pursuing a career that combined both photography and painting. The advent of digital photography , which he rejected at first as a minor technique compared to film, eventually enabled him to express more fully and spontaneously his love of colour.
In the 90s he travelled to India and subsequently studied yogic disciplines in Europe and the USA .
When not working on his own creations, Jean Baptiste is deeply involved in the restoration, preservation and promotion of the family’s rich cultural heritage.
Natures Vives
The Natures Vives were his first project using a digital camera. For the making of these images, he took his inspiration from the still life paintings of 16th and 17th Century Dutch artists whose purpose was to remind the newly enriched merchants of the transience of life and to inspire them to return to less materialistic, earthy values. Jean Baptiste feels this message is still relevant in today’s world and his photographs reflect the urgent need to cultivate a deeper sense of reverence towards nature, our bodies and the planet.
Hauteville House
The Hauteville House series is a selection of Jean Baptiste’s images of the house that belonged to his great-great-grandfather, Victor Hugo, in Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It was here that the revered poet remained in exile for 15 years following Napoleon’s coup d’état, and worked on Les Miserables. Jean Baptiste’s photographs were compiled into a book “ Hauteville House, Victor Hugo Décorateur ”, celebrating the poet’s creative genius. The house, described by his son as a visual poem in several floors, has the particularity of being , through its decoration and architectural arrangement, a three dimensional representation of a philosophical idea, a theme present in “Les Miserables” and many of Victor Hugo’s works – that of the progression of human consciousness from darkness to light.”
Selected Exhibitions:
2019
- Maison de Victor Hugo, Paris , February 7- April 14
2018
- Chelsea Arts Club, London, October 16 – November 4
- Temple des Arts, Lunel , 11 – 28 Aout
- Roger Smith Hotel, 501 Lexington Avenue, New York, March 7 – May 15
2017
- Alliance française de Venise, San Marco, March 17-April 21
2016
- Maison de Victor Hugo, Place des Vosges, Paris 14 April – 18 September 2016
- Galerie Catherine Houard St Germain des Prés, Paris,15 April – 28 May 2016
2015
- Trinity Group Limited Hanover Square, London,18-20 March, 1 -22 April
2014
- Photofusion Salon/14 – Annual Members Show London, 12 Dec 2014 – 30 Jan 2015
2012
- Espace Hélène Barrière, Montpellier, France, 6-20 April 2014 2012
- Galerie 53 Bis, Nimes, France 1 Dec-22 Dec 2012
1986
- Les Arcenaulx, Librairie Jeanne Lafitte, Marseille, France
- Centre Culturel, Montbrizon, France
- L’Evéché, Uzès, France 1985