From My Window – By Angele Fourteau

Long story short: I’ve been shooting the same view since 2018 when I first moved to Paris. I just got this little apartment; super small, super old, and super expensive… not much to dream about, except for a priceless free sky window view between buildings which is quite rare in Paris and mostly from a second floor. And this is where it started… I’ve been passionate about this view since the first day I moved in, and I do love sharing photos of it, but, I haven’t noticed that since the covid lockdown…

April 2020, confined in my Parisian flat, I figured out that this view was my mental escape. I stayed a long time at my window looking at the sky, meditating, noticing every colour change, every bird living in the area, every sound… I became aware of my surroundings.

One day, I caught myself taking a picture of the sky with an unfinished roll that was waiting the end of the quarantine to be developed.

At that specific moment, I remembered that it wasn’t the first time I took a picture like that. So I dug all my negatives out and reviewed each one that I have created since I arrived in Paris. I was stunned to discover that each one of my film rolls has a picture of my window view on the 35/36th frame, sometimes it’s first of the roll. That was insane to me.

I had – have – this habit of shooting my window view to finish my rolls before giving them to the lab.

So, I decided to collect the pictures. I scanned the one I forgot to, and started a new photo series that I posted on instagram in April 2020.

First is was “quarantine view ” then it became “the view”.

I love this story and I love how I discovered it. I love the fact that I forever immortalized the sky at different moments of the year with different cameras and different films. Each picture is unique. Each one tells something, and with every one of them I can let my imagination loose. I love to say that this is my dialogue with the sky, and I am forever grateful for this story.

Today, I am more aware that I take pictures of this view. The original concept has evolved, and I like it, it doesn’t bother me. Now it is no longer just about finishing my roll but about seeing something I want to capture; a colour in the sky, the planes of the 14th of July, the moon, etc… What I like is the (almost) unchanging frame of the buildings highlighting the sky show.

A few months ago, I renewed my flat lease. As I am good to go for 3 more years, I wanted to mark this first Parisian chapter by collecting a selection of pictures from (late 2018) 2019-2021 in a Fanzine. I’m quite proud of this little edition. First of all because it is my first one, and I have the courage to publish it but also because it is a very personal story, and I am very happy to share it through this little edition. The second chapter just started this January 2022

If you want yours, don’t hesitate to contact me on my Instagram: @angelefrt. I’d love to hear your stories too.

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