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Stéphane Jean
Stéphane is a visual artist and fine art nature and landscape photographer focused on the somewhat forgotten Swedish province of Dalsland—his home of 30 years—occasionally bringing his camera to the neighbouring Bohuslän coastline and Norway. His work features a mix of mostly local and intimate landscapes, aerial views, macro and close-up floral portraits, often leaning towards the minimal and abstract.
After a lifelong but casual relationship with photography, he finally connected it to his deeper and vital need for a creative outlet in 2010.
Michéla Griffith
In 2012 I paused by my local river and everything changed. I’ve moved away from what many expect photographs to be: my images deconstruct the literal and reimagine the subjective, reflecting the curiosity that water has inspired in my practice. Water has been my conduit: it has sharpened my vision, given me permission to experiment and continues to introduce me to new ways of seeing.
Creativity is often accompanied by restlessness. It has taken a while for Stéphane Jean to find the right outlet—nature and landscape photography. Nothing along the way is wasted; all of our career choices and explorations ultimately enrich our experience and interpretation of place and nature.
Stéphane enjoys searching for images close to his home in the Swedish province of Dalsland. His favourite photographs are often of the small things that we might easily pass by, or the moments we experience as a result of slowing down and tuning in to our surroundings. This ultimately deepens our connection with place, and leads us to discover more.
Would you like to start by telling readers a little about yourself – where you grew up, what your early interests were, and what you went on to do?
I was born in Paris, France, but grew up in the south of Sweden as we moved back to my mother’s roots there when I was about 3. With my father working as a drummer, freelance graphic designer, and illustrator, and my mother having a background as a dancer and being raised around music, I was regularly exposed to music and art at home. These influences had me spend many hours drawing as a kid and later diving into music. But while my father supported my interest in music, he also consistently dissuaded me from following his path as a professional musician. This led me to not truly commit, instead choosing a compromise and the sidelines of the music world, working towards being a Recording Engineer.
After a few years in the recording studio business, I realized the downsides were too costly. So, after about a year together, my partner – now wife – persuaded me to try something new, leaving the city behind and moving to a much more rural part of the country. Here, after trying a couple of new things, having previously learned the basics in desktop publishing and Photoshop, I started working in print and newspapers.
Creativity has been an important driver for you, and has taken you through a number of media and expressions?
Yes, that’s true. Looking back, it’s clear that I’ve always had a need for a creative outlet of some sort, like a constant unconscious pull, even when I haven’t indulged. As having this need isn’t always convenient, I’ve slowly learned how to let it rest for longer periods of time, but as the months pile up, I just start to get a little depressed without it. It’s like I slowly dry out of life energy and purpose.