Céline Pannetier
Céline's bio
My name is Céline Pannetier. I was born andraised in Paris. A little less than two decades ago, I moved to Barcelona. Inow call it home.
I have always been playing around withphotography. My first memories are from a very young age with a cardboard singleuse camera I got from my parents (and the resulting 24 pics of cows in a field,but what are you supposed to shoot on the Normandy country side when you are9-10ish and not allowed to cross the limits of the field?). Still photographyremained just a peripherical hobby for a long time.
About ten years ago, a life changing eventdrove me to pick up the camera on a daily basis. I started to build a body of work based on thelight contrasts inside the city. I focused on the choreography of the moving crowds,within the intricate architecture, under strongly altering intervention of the Mediterraneansun and its shadows.
The Straw Conspiracy, a long term project(2018-2020), is my focusing on single use plastics invasion in a highlytouristic Barcelona Centre. The two entangled issues were still, alarmingly, hardlyaddressed before the pandemic. The Straw Conspiracy was shown as a pop upexhibition in the Mercat de La Boqueria (Barcelona) and was the exhibited thenin Chrysalid Art Gallery, Rotterdam.
March 2020, Spain was strongly hit byCovid-19’s first wave. On the 14th, Barcelona goes under fulllockdown. Strict home confinement will go on for months.
Needless to say, as I am not a pressphotographer, I would not break the lockdown to shoot the empty streets. Had Idecided to, I felt all of a sudden absolutely “blind” and illegitimate. Socialdistancing, curfew, limited movement, facemasks, closed shops, apprehension forsome, changed the dynamics. All the magical micro moments I saw before just vanished.
Soon, though, I started to focus on myconfined day to day. Like many of us, I also started to spend more and moretime cooking. I must here add that I was raised in a “gourmet” family in whichfood was a topic…The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I realise I’m shooting more and morepictures of the fresh products, the nice little dishes I indulged myself with.First, with my phone, then switching again to the camera.
I was also struggling. I had to face a newworld of technique.
I spent the following summer and fallexperimenting with lenses I wasn’t very used to.
I discovered and studied the delicatetechnicality of gastronomy photography.
I felt free to be a little crazy as nobodywas watching me.
I played with food (sorry Mum…I know youtaught us we shouldn’t)
I was having fun with the camera again!