A long-standing member of the Venezia Photo family, where for several years he has led a now must-attend workshop devoted to the secret Venice of Corto Maltese, Jean-Christophe Béchet offers this time a new immersion behind the scenes of the Serenissima, focusing on the islands of the lagoon. At the crossroads of poetic, documentary and architectural photography, nourished by literature, comics and cinema, Jean-Christophe Béchet places narrative, history and imagination at the heart of his work. Over four days, participants will explore the Venetian lagoon to reveal what makes it singular: the omnipresence of water, the island spirit that reigns around Venice, and that very particular atmosphere where time seems suspended. From San Servolo, the ideal home base for this photographic journey, the workshop invites each participant to discover little-known places and bring back singular, personal and original images. Far from the buzz of the April festival, November offers the ideal conditions to absorb the silence, the light and the melancholy that inhabit the lagoon. It is also the season when the Acqua Alta may occur, an emblematic phenomenon that transforms the landscape and renews the way we look at the city. This workshop is above all an invitation to see differently. Through the landscapes of the lagoon, each participant will be led to explore their own inner landscapes and to develop a photographic language able to convey sensations, emotions and feelings rather than mere facts or anecdotes. For the point is not only to photograph Venice, but to photograph in Venice. Alternating fieldwork and collective editing sessions, the workshop will allow each participant to question their vision, assert their eye and gradually build a true photographic narrative. Guided by Jean-Christophe Béchet, who has made more than twenty stays in the lagoon city, participants will work on the coherence, rhythm and construction of their images. At the end of these four intense days, each participant will present a coherent and personal series, a genuine creative challenge revealing that Venice is far more than a destination: a state of mind, a philosophy of time and an inexhaustible territory of inspiration.
