"Parallel Worlds" by Michel Jolyot
An exhibition of previously unpublished photographs in Provence
From 1st May to 30th September

French photographer, author and publisher of photography books, Michel Jolyot, 66, lives and works in Champagne.
A self-taught photographer, it was in 1980, in the United States, that luck smiled on him thanks to the shots he took of John Lennon on his arrival at the "Hit Factory" recording studio. These images were to be his first publications, three double-page spreads in the magazine Rock&Folk, after the artist's death. His career evolved with opportunities and encounters, working for the REA press agency and as a stage photographer at the Théâtre National de Chaillot. 
In his own words, "For me, the act of photography has always been associated with experimentation and play, whether in my black and white lab, at the controls of my Polaroid SX70, or assembling colour silver prints. The incredible arrival of digital photography at the beginning of this century opened up new playgrounds for me".

In 2015, he developed an innovative process that enables him to transform certain photographs into new, very high-definition digital files, without using the functions of conventional photography and image-processing software.
After several exhibitions of his work entitled "Les Mondes Parallèles par Michel Jolyot" (Parallel Worlds by Michel Jolyot) in Champagne, notably in Epernay and Reims, in the Champagne-Ardenne TGV station and at the Montier-en-Der International Photo Festival, he is now presenting his recent photographic creations inspired by the vines, tree bark and lichens of Champagne and the Vaucluse, a department he loves.
The technique he uses is simple and very natural: a high-definition macro-photographic shot is cropped and then mirrored, without the use of artificial retouching software in post-production.

For its 2024 cultural season, Château de Thézan is unveiling a series of images from this photographic cycle. The exhibition features 20 prints, all of them of Saint-Didier vines and lichens photographed in the vicinity of the château and scattered along the estate's historical and botanical trails. The wilderness, magnified by the subtle art of photography, clashes with the regularity and alignment of the Castle's English park. The images become an expression of the invisible mysteries of threatened biodiversity. "Parallel Worlds", worlds inhabited by fantastic creatures and forms, invite us to discover a new aspect of nature that is so close to us but which we often forget.