Interview
Fanny Hardy
Fanny Hardy comes from a small town in Isère in the French Alps. Her creative spirit has always allowed her to discover and understand the world in a serene, authentic, playful and imaginative way. People are at the center of her life. Sometimes, because of her job as a nurse, she needs to return to more utopian, authentic and fair values. Through her photos, her priority is to make visitors feel emotions and feelings. Since the end of 2023, everything has accelerated a little. In 6 months, different opportunities allowed Fanny to embrace the possibility of a future in the field of photography. She wants to discover the world, what it has to show us, to make known.
As Antoine De Saint-Exupéry said in ‘The Little Prince’: “We only see clearly with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was born in Isère, in the Alps in France. I am a professional nurse in Switzerland. I think I’ve always had a camera in my hands. I think it started with disposable Kodak cameras and then Polaroids. I have always had a weakness for the arts, creation, the artistic side of things. Life has meant that my reason, my values, my sense of relationships, of humanity and my pragmatic side have guided me towards the profession of nursing. However, photography has always been present. At first as a past time- then the opportunities presented themselves. Since 2016, travel has been combined with photography and I increasingly wanted to convey my emotions during the places I visited. In December 2023, I was contacted to participate in the “LA BOUTIQUE DU POSTER FRANÇAIS” project. Everything is accelerated afterwards. I registered for the SPC (Swiss Photo Club) competition in Geneva. I presented several photos, including “Aurora Borealis” which finished in the TOP 50 of the Jury’s choice and 37th in the public vote. The exhibition took place in the Gallery MABE in Geneva and was downright surreal. I loved the experience. Subsequently, I started putting together my portfolio with my travels, I think that’s what takes me the most time. But I love it! And finally in June, I was contacted by the company “LAMA” to create my e-Shop. These last 6 months have been incredible! The more opportunities arrive, the more ideas germinate in my mind. Only the future will tell us what it has in store for me.”
What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?
“My work mainly highlights what I encounter on a daily basis, during my travels. I think the biggest part of my work, and the hardest, is provoking emotions when my work is shared. For me, all art must transmit a feeling, whether it is joy, sadness, surprise; art must be experienced with one's heart. And only then let his mind analyze, interpret. Possibly and indirectly, my work can deal with societal, environmental, etc. or other facts. But above all it deals with man, with the human being, with the environment that he has shaped over the years, the centuries, the millennia.”
Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?
“Although, I am someone who loves both order and righteousness, I hate imposing limits on myself in life. Of course, society, justice, the world of work, etc. impose this on me, but I refuse to allow my creative spirit to be compartmentalized in a standard, a box, a mold. This is why my work is never premeditated. If I like a place, an atmosphere, an environment or even a person, I let my camera do the talking. Of course, some types of photos require “staging” but are the best photos that always come out ? I’m not sure. Authenticity is my sure value.”
Are there any art world trends you are following?
“Eco-responsibility. For me this is essential these days. There are more and more of us on earth and preserving the environment should be obligatory to avoid waste and other complications in certain third world countries. To work on this, I was able to collaborate with the company “LAMA” which allows me to send my works around the world, and this from my own country. I also work with “LA BOUTIQUE DU POSTER FRANÇAIS” which allows you to discover professional and amateur French photographers. As printing uses paper, with each order it commits to planting 10 trees. Storytelling is also important to me, in order to transmit my emotions through the story of my photos. The digitalization of my art has allowed me to make myself known. It is thanks to social networks that I was able to have confidence in myself, in my abilities and in the fact that my photos not only please me, but also many people all over the world. Art through social networks allows me to give more visibility, accessibility and to dare, to assume my gaze.”
What process, materials and techniques do you use to create your artwork?
“I started with a Nikon Reflex then for several years I continued with the Olympus/OM SYSTEM brand, in a hybrid version. It wasn’t always easy at the beginning but I find that the retro side of the device and the technical performance of the hardware are an incredible asset. Secretly, I am trying my hand more and more at astrophotography. I find that this is the category of photography that requires the most technique, performance and theoretical knowledge. For me, it is complex because the universe is complex, I would like the main emotion of an astrophotography photo not to be reduced to just a “wow” but to something else, but for the moment the world does not is not open to another feeling when we talk about the discoveries of the universe. I particularly like landscape, animal and architectural photos, as well as street and candid photos. I find that the emotions come out more quickly. The subject does not have time to “lie,” to put up barriers. The feeling becomes real, the emotions more perceptible. Animals adapt their primitive behavior towards humans, it is pure, sincere and authentic. Perhaps, I like and seek this because the world of non-days is more and more superficial, it is a showcase of what they want to show us.”
“For me, all art must transmit a feeling, whether it is joy, sadness, surprise; art must be experienced with one's heart.”
What does your art mean to you?
“For me, photography is a means of communicating. Not necessarily verbally but with his feelings, his emotions, his affect. She may not only give off positive feelings. Negative or neutral feelings are just as present. The main thing is that they are authentic and without setting limits. My photos allow me to show the world what my eye saw at that moment. Sharing is essential.”
What’s your favorite artwork and why?
“Choosing would be too complicated because there are so many that deserve to be favorites. But that wouldn’t do justice to everyone else who deserves it. So I’m going to talk about photos that I would like to be able to take. I would like to be able to work on photos in a natural space, combining strength, softness, tranquility and unpredictability. I would like to go back to Iceland and take a photo of a volcanic eruption up close. Manage to capture all these colors in one photo. Red, black, blue, green. Fire, lava, glaciers, nature which is and will always remain stronger than everything and whatever happens.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I find that allowing amateur photographers who have learned self-taught to find themselves exposed to the spotlight is most rewarding. The photo exhibitions of the SPC (Swiss Photo Club) are impressive. Some photos are simply incredible. The exhibitions allow you to dare to bare yourself in front of hundreds of people but while maintaining a degree of anonymity and modesty. They give them confidence and allow me to dare certain secret dreams. In 2016, I went to New York, I was certainly impressed by MOMA. From these works of art that it renovated internationally. But I think the one that made me regret the most was the Guggenheim. This architecture, this snail-shaped access and these never-ending rooms. It was simply the most fascinating.”
