Elger Esser

Elger Esser is a French-German artist, who was born in 1967 and raised in Rome. He studied under Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf and his photographic landscapes reflect their conceptual theory yet diverge from their documentary aesthetics. Conceptually, Esser’s strategy is a thorough examination of places. His pictures question the dichotomous approach of nature and culture while visually experimenting with a wide array of techniques, such as oxidation, discolouration, overpainting, colouring or corrosion. Esser perceptively captures the mood of the places he photographs, merging historical photography and paintings into contemplative images. He mostly finds inspiration in the 18th and 19th centuries, not only in terms of photography, painting or literature, but also technically speaking since he uses older processes, such as heliogravure, and his own kind of daguerreotype based on silver plates. 

Works

Mont Saint Michel-Randonneurs
El-Kab II
Chisseau
Montbazon
le-Soussois
Combray (Arçais)
Combray (Pressy-sous-Dondin I)
Combray (Saint-Barthélemy-le-Plain)
Montfort
Etang du Bateguier IV
Ninfa - (Hydor) II
Ninfa - Sleparis
Ninfa - Kleide