Elger Esser

For his third solo exhibition at RX&SLAG Paris, Franco-German photographer Elger Esser presents a series composed of photographs, heliogravures, and images on silvered copper—photographic techniques that have become the artist's emblematic signature over the years.
The result of a stay at the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel in 2022 and 2023, these 12 photographs explore the rocky fortress, the mysterious labyrinths, and the enchanting landscapes of the foreshore.
The photographer, who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Düsseldorf and with the Bechers, has been traversing France, its coastline, and its regions for 30 years to create a lyrical portrait of the country and its landscapes.

Natural and cultural landscape
Water is a favored motif for Elger Esser. Whether it’s a lake, river, pond, or the sea, this element allows for plays of color and light, offering compositions with hues distinct from those provided by nature.
The photographer draws inspiration from the cultural phenomena that shape and define the French landscape, while also integrating natural events such as high and low tides that govern life at Mont-Saint-Michel. The movement of water transforms the site entirely, creating a multitude of different landscapes in just six hours.

Mont-Saint-Michel
Rich in history and mystery, Mont-Saint-Michel has captivated many photographers before Elger Esser. Alfred-Nicolas Normand, Louis-Emil Durandelle, and others have come to immortalize the landscapes of the Mont and its surroundings.
The cultural, folkloric, and religious history of Mont-Saint-Michel has greatly inspired the artist. Influences from the classical and naturalistic painting of Poussin, Lorrain, and Turner, along with his training under the Bechers, lead him to position the Mont in a space between: between sky and earth, between civilization and nature.

The series on Mont-Saint-Michel consists of two types of images: black and white to emphasize the rigor of the forms and the monumental presence of the site's architecture, and monochromatic blues or yellows to reveal the geometric environment.

The monograph Mont-Saint-Michel, the eighth publication from the prestigious publishing house Schirmer/Mosel, accompanies the exhibition, which attracted 250,000 visitors and took place from April 1 to June 15, 2024, in the Salle des Hôtes at the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel.