Hélène Binet’s work, exhibited at the Royal Academy of the Arts, made me look at architecture differently. Through the lens of the Swiss-French photographer, I learned that even construction sites and ordinary buildings can be beautiful and artistic.
As an advocate of analogue photography, the internationally acclaimed photographer has captured both contemporary and historic architecture for thirty-five years exclusively on film. Spending her most formative years at the Istituto Europea di Design in Rome where she studied photography, Binet is now based in London.
Working in collaboration with famous architects such as Daniel Libeskind, John Hejduk, Zaha Hadid and more, Binet (born in 1959) captures buildings in different locations around the world and creates photography that stands up on its own. She prefers not to capture entire buildings and focuses on the smaller details like light and form and highlights unexpected perspectives.
I enjoyed exploring her black and white photographs because there was so much to see in each picture. After leaving the exhibition, I wanted to go out and explore the world of architecture around me. I left feeling inspired by Binet’s style of mixing different shapes and lines and showing how they work together with shadow.
Light Lines: The Architectural Photographs of Hélène Binet is at the Royal Academy, London W1, 23-October-23 January
A detail of Zaha Hadid’s MAXXI – Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy, 2009 (Digital black-and-white silver-gelatin print, 80 x 102 cm) Courtesy of Ammann // projects. Photograph: © Hélène Binet
Reviewed by Giulia Ciccolella – Giulia is interning with Abundant Art during October and supports the organisation writing reviews and helping with marketing and PR. Giulia is German-Italian and graduated with a BA in Media & Communications with first-class honours from Goldsmiths, University of London. She has been living in the UK for over three years and is excited to explore London’s art scene further while learning more about the work of Abundant Art.
