“With the wet collodion process, when you get your portrait shot, it really cannot lie; it really reveals the story of your life on your face. You will see through your make-up, through the tattoos; there are no wrinkles, no scars that can be hidden. People really see themselves in a new light,” Hugo Armano, the assistant at Hội An’s Một Mét Studio, explained to Saigoneer.
In concert with an impressive exhibition ongoing at Shilla Monogram Quangnam Danang resort, the grand opening party for Một Mét Studio was held just a few days ago, on November 25, but it represents a career’s worth of development. After a decade of working in the fashion industry in Hanoi, French photographer Boris Zuliani relocated to Hội An in 2017. With the help of Armano, he invested a year in experimenting with the collodion wet plate process, a form of photography developed in the mid-19th century.
In addition to further honing his photography skills, Zuliani’s time in high fashion connected him with many industry professionals. When these fashion friends travel to Đà Nẵng, he explained, they often sit as models for his ongoing work. For example, the portrait series “Imperial Elegance” features images of women dressed in traditional court and royal attire. The costumes come from another friend in Hội An who rents extravagant clothing for wedding photos.
The dangerous process of capturing images on a glass plate requires ether and silver nitrate, which can blind a person if a drop gets in their eyes. Moreover, the coating and developing must take place before the plate dries, which means the photographers have a window of only 10 to fifteen minutes to work and thus they must rely on mobile darkrooms.
While many of Zuliani’s photos are taken in their studio, some ideas, such as the “Fisherman’s Friend” series which focuses on the local fishing industry, require them to work on location. In these instances, they must construct a mobile darkroom. Further complicating shoots is the fact that the chemicals work best between 19 and 24°C.
The fisherman series reveals how the studio finds intrigue and beauty in ordinary individuals as well as conventionally beautiful people. This interest is also revealed in the series “Wanted!”. Created in collaboration with Kyara Arthouse, it spotlights the skilled artisans who built the art space amid COVID-19's uncertainties. Similarly, Itinerant Vendors focuses on local sellers as a means to capture the area’s street culture and the people who make it possible.
At a recent event, Hugo shared with Saigoneer that spending time with the vendors during the shoot preparation was essential in establishing a comfort and familiarity that comes across in the photos. In particular, a bánh bao seller allowed himself to be photographed in such a way that exposed the large scar he typically hides. Such a shot serves as a metaphor for the raw and imperfect beauty Một Mét gravitates to in wet plate images.
Given the complexities of the collodion wet plate process, extensive preparation work is required. While the photos shared here are all 50cm by 50cm, the studio has the ability to take one-square-meter shots. It can take an entire week to get one of these images just right. The pair shared that they hope to experiment further with two-square-meter images in the future.
As they refine their mastery of the antique photography method, they have created a series of double-exposure images titled “Day Dream.” In the future, they hope to work with color images as well. They also have aspirations to experiment with light painting and also construct a mobile darkroom that would allow them to travel throughout the country to photograph ethnic minorities in their traditional attires. This desire to use photography as a means to preserve and catalog extends to an idea to capture military members in their uniforms, though unlike fashion models, Boris doesn’t have these contacts in his Rolodex.
But like most artists, Một Mét must balance artistic impulses with the economic necessities of paying rent and purchasing materials. Therefore, in addition to their artistic series, they offer private photo sessions at their studio in Hội An. You can visit it to see their work in person, marveling at the details and character-granting imperfections that cannot truly be conveyed via whatever screen you are reading this on. You can also follow their social media to find out about any events their work is featured at, such as a showcase at Shilla Monogram Quangnam Danang resort which is open to the public until December 8.
