Introduction by Robin Pailler | Photography and Words by Friedjof Feye
Random encounters with old friends really is one of life’s true blessings.
Whilst visiting family in Bordeaux last week, I found myself randomly strolling through St Michel flea market when out of nowhere I crossed paths with Friedjof Feye.
Friedjof’s work has graced our pages several times. You may recall his Century of Bauhaus polaroids in Volume VI, or his glorious monochrome double exposure shots for our Cleptomanicx collaboration video, Bande à part in Volume VIII. He even kindly donated photos for our exclusive interview with Malte Spitz.
Either way, you’ll have no doubt seen his photography in an array of print publications across Europe, and if not then we strongly encourage you to check out his website here.
Turns out Friedjof was in town showcasing some of his photography at Connect Festival, a new international festival dedicated to skateboarding culture and its relationship to urban planning, highlighting its cultural and artistic aspects.
As we caught up on life, Friedjof mentioned a Cyanotypes photo series he’d created with Poetic Collective in Paris. And since Poetic are also dear friends of ours, it only felt right to share it with you all. We’ll let Friedjof take it from here:
“In the end, the attempt became the image”
These images began somewhere between familiarity and distance.
Made in Paris, they hold the traces of people who were friends,
though not yet — or perhaps never entirely — known to me.
The cyanotype turns these encounters into something quieter:
figures become shadows, gestures become fragments,
and the city dissolves into a field of blue.
There is a strange intimacy in trying to preserve a moment
that was never really mine to keep.
A body passes, a hand reaches, a face turns away.
For a long time, I followed lemon butterflies through a park,
trying to catch what would not stay still.
In the end, the attempt became the image.
Perhaps these photographs are less about remembering
than about the impossibility of holding on to something.
