Listen to the Silence — Otherworldly Photographs from Lucas Lenci’s Photobook ‘Desaudio’













IN THIS INTERVIEW > We asked 35 year-old Brazilian photographer Lucas Lenci to share some insight into his latest photobook Desaudio, a collection of captivating, still landscape photographs shot in both urban and natural environments.
Hello Lucas, thank you for this interview. What are your main interests as a photographer?
Photography for me is the widest way of expression available. It has the power to tell a story in a single frame, to make you believe in something or dream about something. Photography is also how we perpetuate history, art, a vision, an idea, and how on a personal level we perpetuate our family moments. The possibilities of use are so many… If you look at the right bodies of work, you can see people around the world who are documenting our era or telling amazing stories.
What is Desaudio about, in particular?
Desaudio is about silence, being alone and contemplation.
What inspired you to create this body of work?
The desire to be in a state of lull, to capture moments that exist between me and what I am seeing. I wanted to create images that could put us “on hold” from our frenetic daily routine.
Where were the pictures included in the book taken, and based on what did you decide where to shoot?
While editing the book I looked through my archive for pictures that would generate the feelings I wanted to convey, and in parallel I was producing new images to go along with them. So I pretty much never thought about where to shoot in order to concentrate in what to shoot.
In the book you can see several locations such as Tokyo, Dubai, London, Montevideo and of course São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
How did you prepare yourself for the making of the Desaudio photographs? Was it difficult to achieve the keen stillness of the shots?
Once I had the idea in my head, all I needed was patience. I had to take long walks and spend some time alone. The most difficult part was to understand if I had succeeded in making the image I wanted. I came back to several places to make sure I got the best photograph for the project.
Did you have any specific source(s) of inspiration in mind while working on Desaudio?
The paintings of Edward Hopper.
What have been the main influences on your photography?
Everything is an influence, I try to process as much information as I can to translate into the story I want to tell. I am a huge art enthusiastic, I try to visit museuns everywhere I go, I collect photobooks and I really like to meet and talk with other artists.
Who are some of your favorite contemporary photographers?
Harry Gruyaert, Win Wenders and Saul Leiter are important to me. As far as Brazilian artists go, Cássio Vasconcellos and Claudia Jaguaribe have been friends and examples of professionalism, and the work they have been producing always makes me think about new directions.
Do you have any other passion beside photography?
Family, cycling and music.
Choose your #threewordsforphotography.
Art. Document. History.
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