French photographer Christine Muraton has an extraordinary talent for capturing hauntingly stunning photographs that convey intriguing stories. Inspired by literature, classical studies, philosophy, and psychology, the photographer creates highly atmospheric portraits that are often visually and conceptually ambiguous. Figures are blurred, obscured, or have their backs turned to the viewer, concealing identities by never fully revealing their faces. Subjects blend into unreal landscapes, raising further questions of who they are and what they’re doing in such fantastic places.
Despite the ambiguity of many of Muraton’s works, there is a unique concept behind each image. A spectacular self-portrait featuring Muraton submerged underwater, a halo-like bubble surrounding her head, is about a wanderer whose journey goes deeper beyond earth and sky. A photo depicting a woman sprawled on a bridge, dripping phosphorescence into a river, questions the origin of galaxies and the universe. Muraton’s series of photos showing the same three female figures evokes the imagery of the Furies from classical Greek mythology. The storytelling quality of her photos, paired with their melancholic beauty, make for a truly phenomenal body of work.
Muraton says that for her, “[Photography is] a reflection on reality, a visual and thus more suggestive way to interrogate the nature of things.” She aims to make viewers wonder more about each photo, all the while exploring deeper concepts about life and existentialism.
