Tom Fecht Luciferines - entre chien et loup (Luciferines — Between Dog and Wolf)
LUCIFER'S VORTEX (Luciferine #2433), 2020
©Tom Fecht and Laffanour | Galerie Downtown, Paris
MAELSTROM (Luciferine #3606), , 2017- www.tomfecht.com
ABYSS (Luciferine #2479) Japonica, 2024 , Tom Fecht 2019
RAGE (Luciferine #2543X71) Japonica. Homage to Dylan Thomas, 2025, Tom Fecht 2019
Artist's statement
This series captures the rare phenomenon of natural bioluminescence, photographed on the wild Atlantic coast in Brittany. Luciferines are endangered cold-water plankton threatened by rising temperatures in our oceans. The electric effects of these microscopic creatures occur when millions of them are exposed to molecular oxygen while reproducing at full moon on the turbulent surface of the stormy sea. The sublime traces of their electric discharge remain almost invisible to the naked eye and can only be captured Entre chien et loup, a magic twilight moment when the first blue rays of daylight intersect with the remaining reflections of the moon.
In times of global warming, uncertainty, hesitation, and subconscious fear are mirrored in the blurred boundaries and shifting limits of liquid spaces. The coastline, however, will always be a place of transformation and inconsistency. It is a paradox that the ocean’s proximity, its infinite horizon, its gravitas, its unpredictability, and destructive power generate fear and, at the same time, it is sought out to soothe this fear. This might seem contradictory were it not for Aristotle’s notion of the pharmakon, which is both poison and counter-poison.
Like the dying coral reefs, Luciferines point us towards an event horizon where an exhausted nature hits a dangerous point of no return. But in a world on fire, these marine creatures simultaneously lead us to the magic of their beauty. Emitting a luminous antidote, their performance may conceal a counterconcept for the empathetic mind, better to navigate an endangered and increasingly harsh world poisoned by unsustainable concepts and polarisation.
All artwork courtesy of the artist, Laffanour | Galerie Downtown, Paris.
About the photographer
Frankenberg, Germany, 1952
German
Berlin, Germany and Geneva, Switzerland
About Tom Fecht
Inspired by the Apollo missions and Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Fecht studied physics, thermodynamics, and cybernetics at Columbia University in New York City. As a young engineer, he was involved in the development of fax machines and computer-assisted imaging at Control Data and IBM. Fecht was among the first wave of artists to move into the rough industrial lofts of Lower Manhattan, where he engaged with the vibrant early 1970s art scene, including Agnes Martin, Mark Rothko, Michael Heizer, Cristo and Jeanne-Claude, and in particular Robert Smithson. Early installations inspired by Smithson blended Fecht’s interest in Land Art and science.
A working residency in London expanded Fecht’s practice into high-tech and scientific imaging, and he has since developed his own photographic and technical patents. Fecht is known especially for innovative seascape and night photography. His series Dark Matters and most recent Studies of Ancient Light push his experiments towards the edge of quantum physics, visualising environmental phenomena invisible to the naked eye.
Fecht’s work is held and has been exhibited at numerous public, corporate, and private museums and collections internationally, including Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany (1992); Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn (1993); Hamburger Kunsthalle (1994); Nationalgalerie Berlin (1996); Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2001); MUCEM, Marseille (2003); Royal College of Art, London (2007); Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany (2010); LAAC Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dunkerque, France (2014); Museum DKM, Duisburg, Germany (2017); New York Public Library (2019); and CERN, Geneva (2023).
Fecht has taught at Cornell University, New York, in London at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College, and at ETH Zurich.
Shortlist
Takashi Arai, Exposed in a Hundred Suns, 2011– ongoing
Marina Caneve, Are They Rocks or Clouds?, 2015–19
Tom Fecht, Luciferines — entre chien et loup (Luciferines — Between Dog and Wolf), 2015–25
Balazs Gardi, The Storm, 2020–21
Roberto Huarcaya, Amazogramas, 2014
Alfredo Jaar, The End, 2025
Belal Khaled, Hands Tell Stories, 2023–24
Hannah Modigh, Hurricane Season, 2012–16
Baudouin Mouanda, Ciel de saison (Seasonal Sky), 2020
Camille Seaman, The Big Cloud, 2008–14
Laetitia Vançon, Tribute to Odesa, 2022
Patrizia Zelano, Acqua Alta a Venezia (High Water in Venice), 2019