#ignt_whiteonwhite Winner Joseph Jabbour

– Please only submit your own photographs to the project and keep them in a square format. Any image tagged until Sunday 0.00 am MESZ is eligible to be featured right here.
– If you want to submit your photo, use the hashtag #ignt_bicycle and upload your photo until Sunday the 17.05 on your Instagram account. Have fun and good luck, we can’t wait to see your submissions.

Architect and pattern lover Joseph Jabbour from Paris, France won the following Feature with his picture for our last topic #ignt_whiteonwhite. Thank you for all your submissions.

Follow: @jabbourjoseph

When and where did you take the picture? Tell us a little about the idea behind it.

I took this pic on easter’s eve. I was in the parisian subway on my way to join some friends for our easter diner, and I was in charge of the eggs (serious mission!)
Due to technical problems, we had to wait in the station for some time, then the idea of this pic occurred to me while I was looking at the walls white tiling, a glossy white repeated pattern, a perfect minimalist background for some perfectly white eggs!
What I think is the most interesting about this photo, is its paradoxical character and interpretation, it might look like it was shot in a clean aseptic environment, although it was taken in a dirty and polluted one: a metro station.

Where are you from? How does that place influence the way you photograph?

I’m lebanese, I moved to Paris 11 years ago. I’m totally aware that one can not easily read the parisian “postcard city” influence on my photos, but being surrounded by all this ornamental beauty and details, pushed me to be more and more observant and attentive to simple things, repeated patterns and negative space. Finding photogenic simplicity became like a daily urban game between Paris and myself!

Who and what are the things that inspire you?

When I started studying architecture, I was quickly seduced, like almost every architect, by lines, geometric shapes and spaces, and how the perception of such elements can be drastically conditioned by light! So I quickly took a considerable interest in works of minimalist architects and artists such as Zumtor, Ando, klein, Truitt and many others.
One of the best assets of Paris, is the important amount of exhibitions and cultural manifestations we get to attend around here, providing a perfect stimulating environment, full of encounters and creativity.

Your favorite Instagrammers?

Tough question here, I honestly would say all the instagrammers that I follow! But since I have to pick some, I would mention @sejkko’s account that I discovered recently, and was very charmed by its poetic sceneries, I also have a big appreciation of @serjios, @huxsterized and @marinatamsol strictness and precision. @tichacadabra and @oliviermorisse for portraying beautiful spots of France, and the talented autodidact @badihghanem’s delicious and creative gallery!

Which Apps do you use to edit your pictures?

I use skrwt very often for straightening lines and adjusting perspectives, VSCO for bluish tones, and photoshop if I need to clean some elements or duplicate some patterns.

Tell us a little about your everyday. (Family, friends, work, etc.)

Family and friends have a big place in my life, so I surround myself by loving people as much as possible! You can spot them in my photos from time to time.
Otherwise I’m an ardent cinephile. Back when i was a college student, I used to spend more time at the movie theater than going out with friends or at home! Today I still manage to watch one or 2 movies per week and highly recommend my last 2 favorite ones: “It Follows” and “Tu Dors Nicole.”
Random things that I like: my iPhone, my iPhone charger, ignant (truly), sparkling water, Beirut (both city and band), food (unconditionally), fake reading in the plane, Yoncé, jogging at the Jardin du Luxembourg…

All images © Joseph Jabbour