What kid doesn’t love gooping around in the mud?
For that matter, what mountain biker doesn’t love coming home spattered in mud?
While most bikers and kids wash off mud with hardly a glance, Canmore photographer Francois Pelletier discovered a story in the web of cracks found in mud when it dries.
That story, Light of Impermanence, is on display throughout summer in the lobby of One Wellness Spa, located in Solara Resort on Kananaskis Way.
“I remember the feeling of having it on and the look of it – that solid breaking off in tiny little particles. I remember that from my childhood and with the biking, it came together.”
And when he says it “came together,” he means that it led him to create a series of black-and-white photographs that are both a study of light and the human body with a focus on the texture created by dried, flaking mud.
“Through the process of that project, I discovered a deeper meaning to it,” Pelletier said. “All those little things falling off represent little moments, little happenings of the universe. Basically, we’re borrowing those building materials for a moment in time and ‘impermanence’ means exactly that: We’re not here forever.
“Impermanence can be seen in many things. When I started this project, it was really the vision of the human body and dried mud, putting it on wet and drying off and having all those different states of change.”
The title of the project came later, he said, as he began to discover the many layers hidden in the dried mud.
“Life is not still and impermanence is that process of not being still, but to keep going. As we’re moving, we’re losing things and creating different things.”
While the project initially began as a study of the human body and of hard, white light contrasted against deep, rich blacks, the texture of the cracked mud became Pelletier’s focal point.
“I really found a vision I wanted to create from that texture. It was a study of light I was exploring. It was a study of light and texture in that light. I was trying to bring (out) the little shadows with that light and basically I realized that I had a vision that was a bit more complete.”
But to reach the point where he began to have a complete and articulated vision involved a lot of trial and error as he sought to discover the right clay to make his mud (spa-grade white clay), the right drying time (in front of a gas fireplace set at 39 C), the amount of clay required per model (about three to four kilograms) and the length of time it took from initially applying the mud to setting the camera down before his four models rebelled (two to three hours).
“I tried to help them by giving them good food, chocolate and lots of encouragement,” he said, laughing.
None of that, however, would have come about if Pelletier wasn’t curious and took the time to not only play in the mud, but to really look at it and in the process, nurture a creative journey.
“When I look at things I try to think about life in general and try to understand it. I approached that texture and study last summer. This entire project grew from a desire to do something different, especially since the Bow Valley is home to a large number of photographers working in landscape and wildlife.
“Everyone else is doing landscape and wildlife in the Bow Valley. There’s amazing pictures out there to be taken, but I wanted to do something different,” he said, pausing for a moment, before adding, “the texture brought me to a different place.”
The public is invited to view Light of Impermanence at One Wellness Spa.
