A physicist, photographer, and aikido practitioner, Jérôme Amzallag was a devoted, passionate, and engaged spectator throughout the tenth edition of the Haizebegi Festival. He was kind enough to provide some of his photos to illustrate several articles in this latest issue of the Journal and the previous one. It was only fitting to introduce him.
A physicist primarily interested in light vibrations—specifically those in the visible light spectrum—his dissertation focused on the propagation of light in semiconductor materials, a process that requires a frequency and polarization analysis of the electromagnetic wave. As an associate professor of wave physics at the University of Paris VI (now Sorbonne University) for 25 years, he taught geometric and wave optics primarily through theoretical and, above all, experimental methods.
His long journey with images began with photographing jazz musicians.
On the Black-and-White Side of Jazz
Drawn to the human form, movement, and light, he then explores the distinct shapes of bodies in scenes of light and shadow, woven endlessly together through the Japanese butoh dance.
Currently, his photographic work focuses on humanistic, blurred, or watercolor-style photography (#photobrouillee or #scrambledphoto). This body of work began in the 2010s with two favorite and symbolic themes (“Smartfeet” and “Just Follow”) as a means of exploring light and analyzing human motor function.
Shooting “one-shot” videos is another subject he is particularly drawn to because of the sustained concentration and intuitiveness it requires, allowing him to combine his passions and his personal quest for a unique blend of disciplines. This is similar to his practice of Aikido, a physical and mental discipline he began at the age of 18. When taking some of his photographs, he incorporates movements from this discipline. This aspect of photography allows him to introduce the notion of the relativity of induced movement. Thus, with each shutter click, the recorded pixelated photographic trace serves as a testament to this physical phenomenon, becoming a reinterpretative photographic “watercolorization” of his “martialized” perception of everyday life.
Jérôme Amzallag has exhibited his work in France and the United States.
• See his column in Haizebegi #10:
— On Instagram
#haizebegi #haizebegi2023
— On Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/amxagori/?locale=hi_IN
• See Freddy Saïd Skouma at the 2023 Haizebegi Festival
