Czech photographer Julie Hrnčířová (laureate of FUTURES x Fotograf Zone 2022) conducted a three-week artistic residency with three classes at the Lycée des métiers du bois et de l’éco-construction d’Envermeu. The photographer, who develops a body of work attentive to the happy accidents of everyday life and other anonymous sculptures dotting urban environments, encouraged the students to create a multitude of scumptures. Assembled from scraps of wood recovered from the workshops and the sawmill, these sculptures were then staged and photographed in the nearby forest.

During the first week, the students collected offcuts from the workshops and the sawmill in order to create wooden volumes (carved, cut, assembled). They then staged and photographed them in the neighbouring forest, digital and film cameras in hand and hiking boots on their feet.

The second week took place in the residency space of the Centre photographique in Rouen and was devoted to the development, processing and printing of the photographs taken during the first week of workshops. 

For the final week of residency, Julie Hrnčířová returned to the school, large prints under her arm, to lead workshops on the creation of frames and pedestals – again made from scrap wood.

Julie Hrnčířová is a Czech artist who lives and works in Oslo and is a graduate of the École nationale supérieure de la photographie in Arles. Her practice takes place in public spaces, urban environments, chance encounters, still lifes and discarded objects. She creates installations and sculptures using materials such as wood, metal, fabric and ceramics, exploring the interactions between these different materials.

Funded by: ‘Jumelages-résidences d’artistes’ of the Regional Department of Cultural Affairs of Normandy with the participation of the Regional Department of Food, Agriculture and Forestry and the Vocational School of Wood and Eco-Construction of Envermeu.