Originally from Paris, Théo de Gueltzl studied at Central Saint Martins in London, graduating in 2014. Initially focusing on fine art, he developed a long-standing partnership with Hermès, contributing intricate drawings for their textile designs. Documenting his travels through photography became a parallel obsession.
His approach to photography explores sculptural form, the surrounding world and a sensitive, in-depth investigation of human stories and character. Rooted in the authenticity of travel documentary, de Gueltzl’s imagery embraces an otherworldly aesthetic, intertwining his interests in the environment and fine art. At the heart of his practice is an empathetic approach to celebrate the cultures, communities and landscapes he encounters, as well as the exercise of creating new structures to capture fashion within.
De Gueltzl’s passion for natural landscapes and the communities who inhabit them, which is so evident in his portfolio, extends beyond aesthetic considerations. His images of dense jungles, small rivers, rocky coastlines, and vast canyons are more than just sights for sore eyes, they are tributes to the importance of earth’s many different ecosystems. Against a backdrop of greed and environmental destruction, de Gueltzl seeks to show the viewer the urgent need for preservation, the crucial task that lies ahead of us.
‘Fine Lines,’ a recent project for Atmos, an online platform and magazine dedicated to bridging the gap between climate and culture, saw de Gueltzl photograph horizons from the Swiss Alps to the Mediterranean Sea. In the images, we witness the true diversity of the natural world, from harsh and wintery mountainscapes, to fast-flowing rivers, to soft and inviting shorelines, as de Gueltzl traces the journey to the ocean. These photos are accompanied by a poem he co-wrote with Ralph Cox that speaks of the ‘thin places’ where we find ourselves between landscapes and ‘between two worlds.’ In this project, as in many of his other projects, de Gueltzl shows us the potential of using photography to preserve nature and culture.
“I try through my photographs to capture the holistic side of the natural world and hope that it will help people to look at the landscape as something rich when it's alive, and not as something to harvest or use for short-term benefit.”
“Théo shows us the potential of using photography to preserve nature and culture.”
“I am drawn to a particular kind of people and places. Cultures that go unnoticed. People who one could call outsiders.”
“Empathy plays a big role in my approach to a subject matter. I stay connected with a place and its people, believing and following my intuition, to then create both a personal and universal response that aims to raise awareness on important issues.”
“In a time where we are all looking at the world through the same filtered window, and living on a planet that is always growing and changing, I like the idea that photographs can act as proof, carrying information about how people lived in a certain place at a certain time.”
“I think I have been very much driven towards telling the stories of communities from other parts of the world in the hope of helping to preserve the diversity of culture.”
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