Nicolas Comment

L'oiseleur (2003)

Nicolas Comment

Born in 1973

L'oiseleur (the Birdcatcher) is a fruit born out of the path that Jean Cocteau took in the Riviera that Nicolas Comment followed. Comment was strongly affected by the life and work of Cocteau and travelled to the places where he lived (the Welcome Hotel of the Villefranche-sur-Mer for example, where he drew the self portraits that he published in The Mystery of Jean the Birdcatcher) and where he directed Le Testament d'Orphée. Lingering details and special effects from the film, as well as the proximity of the carnival of Nice, explain these half-animal, half-human hybrids that are found in the later works done by Comment. Beyond the figure of Jean Cocteau, the Birdcatcher is above all a metaphor for the photographer who must capture what is haphazardly offered to him.Read more

This project was created during an artist residency organized by the Franco-German Youth Office for the 40th anniversary of the death of Jean Cocteau.