RICOCHET - QCP (Queensland Centre for Photography) - January and February 2014

Christophe Canato Ricochet 2013,
metallic paper, archival pigment print

Canato’s series Ricochet alludes to stage play of a Shakespearean vein. As single images they are beautiful, enigmatic studio portraits and still lives, but seen together they are reminiscent of an elaborate storyboard for an unseen greater tale. His ambiguous and luscious photographs, lit in the manner of many renaissance paintings, delve into the psyche of childhood, a time when playing is the most important activity and everything is believable; a time when darkness hides all sorts of threats and time itself seems endless.
Ricochet is one of several French words that retains its spelling and meaning in English, and conjures gunshots ricocheting off all sorts of items in westerns, to make the improbable seem easy. Similarly it is a term that pops up in sporting commentary when a lucky deflection or bounce leads to points. In French, Canato’s first language, it is also used to describe a rock skimming across water, a favourite game of children (and quite a few adults too). In this last incarnation of the word, it takes on an even more magical sense as a rock should surely sink into the water, not dance across its surface. Like the dreams and fears of childhood, the rock defies logic for a short while, before the reality of gravity brings the game to an end.

French-Australian Christophe Canato lives and works in Perth, Western Australia since 2005. After receiving his DNSEP in 1989 (comparable to a Master degree in Fine Arts) and in 1993 a Diploma of Fashion from the prestigious Institut Français de la Mode (French Fashion Institute), Canato has drawn on his background in the Paris Fashion industry.