Clément Marion’s series Phoenix is at first glance a shocking series, not because we should be, but because we are rarely confronted with the reality that our lives could be changed so dramatically in such a short period of time. Captured on a Sinar F2 4x5 camera with a 135mm lens, his collection of 12 wet plate collodion photographs of severe burn victims act as both hybrid artistic therapy for his models but also a commentary on important social constructs that influence their mental and emotional healing, long after their physical wounds have been conquered.

Could you imagine? Your life, body, and self-esteem, all destroyed by an accident? The social implications would be not only life-altering but confidence-altering. How would you go back to your everyday life knowing that you would be stared at every day? It’s no wonder that psychological and psychosocial distress is among the most frequent and debilitating complications that major burn victims face after physically healing from their wounds. According to the Burn Model System, approximately one-third of patients with major burns had clinically significant psychological distress at the time of discharge [1] and 20% of patience reported clinically significant symptoms of depression for up to two years.

Armed with this information, Clément Marion decided to take action to give major burn victims acceptance, empowerment, and legitimacy to their new body image. Instead of hiding their life-altering scars, they have been given the opportunity to proudly accept and display them for the world to see. His artist statement explains more: “People are embarrassed about the difference. To share, to show, is to break silences that make you feel uncomfortable. Because what hurts mostly is the look of others, the ignorance. These photographs are a message of tolerance and hope for all people who are forced to live with their scars.”

When asked what inspired him to embark on this project he shared that, “The first contact with this world [of burn victims] was during childhood, there was one [patient] in my village. I don’t really know his story, or even his name, and I haven’t really had a chance to talk to him. He wore large dark glasses at all times. From around the age of five, I was a little fascinated. Much later, I heard an interview which asked this simple question: ‘When was the last time you saw a majorly burnt person? You haven’t seen any? It’s normal, these people are hiding.’ This sentence touched me, so I asked myself how to help this cause, which is the acceptance of others, of difference and which advocates tolerance.”

Marion’s decision to use wet plate collodion for his series was ingenious. The parallels between the gritty blemish-enhancing chemical process and the texture of the healed skin of each burn victim are self-evident. Not so obvious is the mechanism in which the chemicals dry, harden, shrink, and sometimes crack in the process of creating each photograph, a process that is synonymous with the healing process of a victim’s wounds. In addition, the various chemicals that are used to create these photographs, specifically silver nitrate, are also used as medicine for the physical healing of patients’ skin. The artist’s choice to use this specific chemical to accomplish his series is a magical idea and links the ideas of both physical and psychological healing, both through medicine and art.

Phoenix has now been featured in a large variety of magazines and online outlets and it’s obvious why. Marion’s selfless and genuine interest in the individuals he photographs makes for a series that radiates kindness that is the opposite of the exploitative nature of other photographer’s work. Further compounding this, the series has now become a 48 page 15x21” photobook combining his photographs with inspirational words written by one of his models, Célia Lebreton. This photobook isn’t simply a book of photographs, it is a book of hope. Within its pages, there is a juxtaposition of his photographs alongside his model’s thoughts and optimistic reflections on the condition of the human being in the face of suffering. Although the book is found in galleries and artists’ hands, more importantly, it is sent free of charge to several hospitals and health professionals. This serves as a tactile reminder to patients going through their own treatment that this isn’t the end of their lives, but just the beginning of their journey towards physical and emotional well-being. If you wish to support the artist and provide funding for more copies of Phoenix to be placed in the hands of those who need its therapeutic powers, you can purchase your copy here. You won’t be disappointed.

GALLERY

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in Pertuis in 1996, Clément Marion began photography at an early age. At 19, he joined the ETPA photography school in Toulouse, where he discovered film photography, which he has never left since. After a sabbatical year during which he sharpened his photographic writing, he will graduate in 2020 with a jury mention for his "Phoenix" series on burn victims photographed with Collodion Humide. He then settled in the Paris region and began his activity as an artist-photographer.

Since graduating, his work has been acclaimed in articles on the web and in photographic magazines including Peta-Pixel and Vice Magazine.

Connect with Clément Marion on his Website and on Instagram!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Behlen is an instant film addict and the founder and publisher of Analog Forever Magazine. For the last 6 years, Behlen has become an obsessive community organizer in the film photography world, including launching the independent publishing projects PRYME Magazine and PRYME Editions, two enterprises dedicated to the art of instant film. Through these endeavors, he has featured and published 200+ artists from around the globe via his print and online publications.

He has self-published two Polaroid photobooks -“Searching for Stillness, Vol. 1” and “I Was a Pioneer,” literally a boxed set of his instant film work. His latest book, Searching for Stillness Vol II was published in 2020 by Static Age. He has been published, been interviewed, and been reviewed in a quantity of magazines and online publications, from F-Stop and Blur Magazine to the Analog Talk Podcast. He loves the magic sensuality of instant film: its saturated, surreal colors; the unpredictability of the medium; it’s addictive qualities as you watch it develop. He spends his time shooting instant film and backpacking in the California wilderness, usually a combination of the two.

Connect with Michael Behlen on his Website and on Instagram!

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