Trip through a dark, sentimental French photo diary

Artist and photographer Nicolas Gavino's recently released publication, Nocturne, is a dark and erotic sentimental photo diary. Featuring 48 photographs in total, Gavino takes us on an intimate journey of visuals that embody the beauty in what he recalls as his “empty, everyday life” – taking inspiration from “how tough it is to live sometimes”.

Residing in Bordeaux, Gavino's work is mostly influenced by the eroticism and mortality in French literary George Bastille's books. He finds himself gravitating towards depicting the tragedy associated with western culture, admitting he sees ‘a wide deepness into dramaturgy’.

Finding his feet in photography after working from a makeshift workspace in his small bathroom using his father’s old, compact automatic (camera), it was this tiny bathroom, he remarks, that led him to his success today. With little income, Destop bleach was used to develop his photographs – with imperfection unintentionally becoming a signature in his work. “In a way, we can say that the unemployment created me a style,” he confesses, rewarding his lack of means for his distinctive aesthetic. For the most part, Gavino's work is shot in-house at his flat in the company of his friends and lovers that pose effortlessly at the centre of his work. Even though these are singular photos, each gives the impression of a deeper narrative underneath, yet holds a welcome sense of mystery that we will never know what came before or after each shot.

Nocturne is available here