In November 2023, my article “Frankenstein ou le photographe moderne” (Frankenstein or the Modern Photographer) was published in Frankenstein et sa créature, d’hier à aujourd’hui. La puissance d’une double figure (Frankenstein and His Creature, from Yesterday to Today: The Power of a Dual Figure), directed by Jean-François Chassay and Elaine Després at the Presses de l’Université de Montréal. This study offers a contemporary reading of Frankenstein through the figure of the photographer, interrogating creation and the representation of the body in the modern era.
Reference of the conference proceedings:
“Frankenstein ou le photographe moderne,” in the proceedings of Frankenstein et sa créature, d’hier à aujourd’hui. La puissance d’une double figure (Frankenstein and His Creature, from Yesterday to Today: The Power of a Dual Figure), under the direction of Jean-François Chassay and Elaine Després, Montreal: Presses de l’Université de Montréal.
The Photographer, a New Prometheus?
The story of Victor Frankenstein and his creature embodies the human obsession with mastering life and image. In my analysis, I explore how contemporary photography, like Shelley’s work, questions the boundaries between creation and otherness. The photographer, like the scientist, shapes and transforms his subjects, playing with the boundaries of the real and the artificial.
The Image as a Monstrous Double
Just as Frankenstein’s creature, the photographic image is an assemblage of fragments that produces a new reality. Through the study of contemporary works, my article illuminates the parallels between the act of photographic creation and the process of creating a monster: manipulation of appearance, hybridization of bodies, and the quest for identity.
An Essential Work on Frankenstein and Its Adaptations
This collective publication focuses on the numerous adaptations of the Frankenstein myth across cinema, literature, comics, video games, and visual art. It offers an interdisciplinary reflection on the constant reinvention of this mythic figure and its impact on the collective imagination.