Charlie Tronchot

Previously Nick Knight's second assistant, photographer Charlie Tronchot reveals her latest solo show at the Ground Effect Gallery in Paris exploring the concept of nostalgia in nature.

Born in the cellars of the Haut Marais, Ground Effect is a Parisian gallery that exhibits contemporary art dedicated to the artists of tomorrow. Their unwavering support is aligned with the emerging artists of now – wanting their space to be seen as a springboard for up and coming creatives who have something to say. With Ground Effect referring to their spirit as 'young, open and alive', it only seems natural that young artist and previous second assistant to Nick Knight, Charlie Tronchot, has chosen to exhibit her solo show there, comprised of two works, I Had A Crush (2019) and Umbra (2021).

Born in Paris, Charlie Tronchot is a creative director, photographer, and videographer who splits her time between London and Paris. Graduating from École cantonale d'art de Lausanne in Switzerland in 2019, Tronchot specialises in fashion and still life imagery, where she works on either a commissioned, editorial or personal basis.

Ambiguous in message, strikingly abstract in style, Tronchot's work often tackles themes of nostalgia in mother nature. Her finished pieces – polished and glossy – have a dreamlike quality that effortlessly captures the viewer's attention. Her work is rooted in creating artificial images that play around with 'natural/organic' elements, manipulating them in such a way that changes their appearance and message entirely. Her work's ambiguity is what keeps the onlooker's attention, meaning her viewers are left pondering over what they're looking at, how the image was created, and if the artwork was even manipulated at all.

Speaking of her artistic process, Tronchot claimed she '(doesn't) necessarily have a creative process', going on to admit that she 'works in a rather intuitive way, experimenting a lot. I experiment with many cameras, from analogue cameras to newer technologies through to less conventional cameras like thermal cameras or photo scanners.'

Admitting 'accidents are often my best mistakes/results', Tronchot's more recent series on display, Umbra, resulted from spending time locked down in London during the first wave of the pandemic. Speaking of this experience, Tronchot commented, 'Being reduced to the bare essentials, not necessarily having access to the conditions I was used to shooting in really allowed me to be creative and intuitive.

I Had A Crush is more conceptual and abstract in style than Umbra – which deals more with flora and fauna – the images and compositions were created on the flat surface of the scanner, revealing a crisp series of work that's expressive, easily evoking a visceral reaction from the onlooker. Although don't be fooled, Umbra is just as surreal. Drawing inspiration from dystopian fantasies, Umbra is an ode to nature, attempting to capture nature's fragile and ephemeral character while questioning both the natural and the artificial elements of it. Playing with colour, form and composition, Tronchot has created surreal landscapes, working with micro-macro scales, whereby getting closer and closer, the viewer ends up losing the recognisable qualities of the flowers, subtly dragged into a more surrealistic image upon every inspection.

Taking the same steps SHOWstudio has to embrace unique ways of filming, creating and making, Tronchot's next focus is film, with the desire to envision her artworks through a moving lens rather than a stagnant one, bringing them to life and watching them evolve in the process.

Tronchot's photographic series will be made visible to the public through a private viewing from 7 July and will be open to the rest of the public on 8 July. All prints are for sale and a catalogue of the work will be available via SHOWstudio.

Tronchot's work is also on display at the Gstaad Palace and has recently been shown at The Art Week in London, Festival d'Arles (2018) and Vevey Images (2016).