It's unclear why artistic sensitivity emerges in a child, but in my case, it might have been a compensation for my highly anxious nature and a consequent stutter that challenged me daily. Forced to adapt in my interactions, I found autonomy in my solitude, spending countless hours exploring and refining my artistic character.

My name is Richard Schlang, I live and work in Paris, and I express myself through photography, drawing, and video.

Admitted to the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, my immersion in this environment allowed me to broaden my horizons and strengthen my artistic sensitivity, thanks in particular to one of my professors, Patrick Raynaud. However, despite graduating with honors in June 1990, I doubted my calling, seeing myself as an artist simply because I was young. This uncertainty led me to pursue another professional path, deemed societally more understandable by those around me.

After thirteen years, a realization struck me: I had misinterpreted my artistic calling. This revelation prompted me to move to Paris, where I opened a communications agency to reconnect with a creative environment. Faced with the challenges of a demanding fashion catalog project and the complex requirements of professional photographers, I decided to invest in high-quality photographic equipment and take the photos myself. This work was a success, and I became a fashion photographer within my agency. I also diversified into the worlds of perfume and music, and my agency began to thrive.

In June 2006, I decided to undertake a personal project, completely independent of any client commissions. I dedicated an entire day to wandering around Paris, capturing photographic details of the city. This exploration brought to life my first series titled "Detail session [01]." In December, a selection of these shots was exhibited in a dynamic space, animated by 600 projectors displaying 16 million colors—a first in Europe at that time. This inaugural exhibition allowed me to sell several prints.

Thus, alongside my agency, I continue to develop my "DETAIL" collection, exploring through various series the detail of an object, a person, an emotion, or a moment. Concurrently, I delve into creating experimental videos. In May 2008, I began the "PROHIBITED" collection, exploring themes of transgression. In November 2010, I initiated the "NUMBER" collection, producing a series of films using only an iPhone camera, turning each project into a distinct conceptual art piece. All these endeavors enrich my portfolio, enabling me to participate in numerous exhibitions, both solo and collective.

In September 2012, I took a new turn by moving to Taichung, Taiwan, and becoming a VJ. At the club 18TC, I mixed my photographs and artistic films in real-time on a giant screen, captivating the nighttime audience. Quickly, my work was recognized, and new opportunities began to emerge. However, in August of the same year, a serious family issue forced me to urgently return to France, abruptly halting my projects in Asia.

A month after my return to Paris, a psychiatric illness developed within me. From September 2012 to December 2015, I suspended all activities of my agency and halted my artistic projects. Faced with this intense crisis, I underwent a radical treatment: 12 sessions of electroconvulsive therapy. This challenging period confronted me with the complexity and the stigma of psychiatric disorders in our society. Unlike the compassion often felt towards serious physical illnesses such as cancer, mental disorders provoke irritation and misunderstanding, expressed in reactions like: "Come on, you could make an effort to get better." This general misunderstanding reinforces the patient's sense of guilt, severely hindering their healing process.

My art faded and my relationship with my work deteriorated tragically. For four years, I disconnected from everything I had previously undertaken. Fortunately, during this difficult period, a mysterious force encouraged me to create two artistic series, "Detail entracte [09]" in August and "Detail nothing [06]" in December 2014. These moments of creation seemed to have been the work of my subconscious taking control. Today, these achievements continue to fill me with pride and I view them as undeniable proof of my legitimacy as an artist. During the same period, I discovered meditation through the Namatata app, which greatly contributed to my healing. I am extremely grateful to Antoine Gerlier, the creator of the app, for this valuable help. This practice not only saved my life; it also profoundly enriched my artistic perspective.

2016 marks a new beginning for me, fully dedicated to my artistic work. However, as François Truffaut aptly said, "Life has much more imagination than we do," and a new challenging event strikes very close to home. In response, I promise to be a solid and unwavering presence, offering unconditional and devoted support, driven by an enduring love and ready to slow down my professional projects without any compromise.

From 2017 onwards, my work took a particular turn, as if a new door was opening onto a universe that was just waiting to be revealed. After 30 years of amnesia in this field, drawing resurfaced in my artistic world. This reintroduction marks a personal victory, the courage to claim a new sensitivity that strengthens and harmonizes with my photographic and film works, thereby enriching my artistic expression.

In November 2019, I completed the 60th series of my "DETAIL" collection, and a new photographic desire began to emerge within me. With the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020, this period of upheaval served as a catalyst to definitively close the "DETAIL" collection and give birth to "FROM SCRATCH." This new collection is deeply inspired by a thought from François Cheng: "But what is this drive towards life? And most importantly, from what could it possibly arise within us? So many lost, discouraged people wonder, not knowing where to find the strength for this drive. To this question without a satisfactory answer, I dare to respond: from nothing. (From scratch)."

The transition from my DETAIL collection to FROM SCRATCH, along with the integration of drawing into my work and the development of new themes such as REIMAGINATION and PRESENTime, embodies my belief that 'ART IS ART.' Art is ultimately not confined to a medium, style, or technique. It adopts multiple forms, manifesting here and now, in full awareness, and sometimes inviting a shift in perspective. Welcome to my world.