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Book tip: Mythologies
Book tip: Mythologies
Letizia Le Fur
June 10, 2021
In her book, Mythologies, Le Fur sets of in search of traces of Greeks sagas, and gives them her own, new interpretation. The work was originally titled The Wealth of the Continents and the Providence of Men on the Run. Part of it was published in the S Magazine. In this interview, the photographer speaks about why she is so fascinated by sagas, how she conceived the series, and how the book came about.
LFI: Please tell us about the idea that sparked your book project.
Letizia Le Fur: The work shown in this book is a free interpretation of the Greek myths that have inhabited my imagination from my childhood up until now, as well as an obsessive search for beauty as an answer or refuge from the harshness of the outside world. This book is, above all, the result of a meeting with the publishing house, Rue du Bouquet, and editor Samantha Millar, that took place two years ago at the time of the Leica Award.
Where was the material for Mythologies derived from?
This work was initially called The Wealth of the Continents and the Providence of Men on the Run, which was about the representation of a man wandering from land to land, surrounded by a hostile nature, in flight or in search of a lost land; like Ulysses on the long way back to Ithaca. Maybe I didn't accept this mythological influence enough to claim it and make it the title of this series. During a discussion, Laura Serani highlighted this, and I was totally able to relax! The title was an obvious choice, as was the development into three chapters.
Will there be more to come? The text says, “the present work uncovers the first and second chapters of Mythologies”.
The first part, The Origin, deals with the era of the creation of the world; the second part, The Golden Age, with the harmony between man and nature. And indeed there will be a third chapter, Metamorphosis, inspired by the eponymous poem of Ovid (that I am producing right now actually, through an artistic residency in Cadaques).
Where did you take the photographs? Where else did you find your motifs?
Many of the images were taken in Lanzarote, Corsica, Normandy, and Greece, during a two-year period of travel.
Please tell us a bit about the production process of Mythologies. How did you edit the book and how did you develop its layout?
This book was really built from a rather large edit that I provided the publishing house, then tightened up with Samantha, the editor, and Alain Rodriguez of the graphic design duo Bizzari-Rodriguez. I put all my trust in them to lead this project. Alain adopted the images as his own, and organized the book in his own, sometimes surprising, way. After some discussions, the three of us came to an agreement without too many compromises on either side.
Letizia Le Fur – Mythologies
Hard cover, format: 23.5 x 32 cm, 88 pages
Around 56 images; 500 limited edition
Rue du Bouquet
All images on this page: © Letizia Le Fur
Carla Susanne ErdmannLFI: Please tell us about the idea that sparked your book project.
Letizia Le Fur: The work shown in this book is a free interpretation of the Greek myths that have inhabited my imagination from my childhood up until now, as well as an obsessive search for beauty as an answer or refuge from the harshness of the outside world. This book is, above all, the result of a meeting with the publishing house, Rue du Bouquet, and editor Samantha Millar, that took place two years ago at the time of the Leica Award.
Where was the material for Mythologies derived from?
This work was initially called The Wealth of the Continents and the Providence of Men on the Run, which was about the representation of a man wandering from land to land, surrounded by a hostile nature, in flight or in search of a lost land; like Ulysses on the long way back to Ithaca. Maybe I didn't accept this mythological influence enough to claim it and make it the title of this series. During a discussion, Laura Serani highlighted this, and I was totally able to relax! The title was an obvious choice, as was the development into three chapters.
Will there be more to come? The text says, “the present work uncovers the first and second chapters of Mythologies”.
The first part, The Origin, deals with the era of the creation of the world; the second part, The Golden Age, with the harmony between man and nature. And indeed there will be a third chapter, Metamorphosis, inspired by the eponymous poem of Ovid (that I am producing right now actually, through an artistic residency in Cadaques).
Where did you take the photographs? Where else did you find your motifs?
Many of the images were taken in Lanzarote, Corsica, Normandy, and Greece, during a two-year period of travel.
Please tell us a bit about the production process of Mythologies. How did you edit the book and how did you develop its layout?
This book was really built from a rather large edit that I provided the publishing house, then tightened up with Samantha, the editor, and Alain Rodriguez of the graphic design duo Bizzari-Rodriguez. I put all my trust in them to lead this project. Alain adopted the images as his own, and organized the book in his own, sometimes surprising, way. After some discussions, the three of us came to an agreement without too many compromises on either side.
Letizia Le Fur – Mythologies
Hard cover, format: 23.5 x 32 cm, 88 pages
Around 56 images; 500 limited edition
Rue du Bouquet
All images on this page: © Letizia Le Fur
ALL IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: © Letizia Le Fur
Letizia Le Fur+-
Born in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis in 1973, Le Fur studied at the École des Beaux-Arts from 1993 to 1998. She has already produced campaign photos for Air France, Ruinart, the SNCF, Clarins and Nivea. Her work has been published in magazines such as Voyageurs du Monde, WAD, Psychologies Magazine, Le Parisien and Les Echos. In 2018, Le Fur won the first Alpine × Leica Photo Contest. In the format of a carte blanche, she completed her winning series in line with the required motto: Hit the Road. Her project was on display in January 2019 at the gallery of the Leica Store Faubourg Saint-Honoré, and at the Havas Gallery, in Paris. More
