We are delighted to present ‘Le rêve circulaire’,a solo exhibition of the French photographer and visual artist Laurent Miller at IN-DEPENDANCE by IBASHO.
Laurent Millet (1968, Roanne) blends photography with sculpture, drawing, and installation. Rather than documenting the world directly, he constructs objects, architectural forms, and poetic ‘machines’, which he later photographs in his studio or in natural environments. Millet’s work explores the boundary between reality and representation, as well as the interplay between volume, space, and surface. The artist often uses historical or handcrafted photographic processes — such as ambrotype, cyanotype, salted paper prints and gelatin silver prints — giving his images a timeless, tactile quality. In the exhibition ‘Le rêve circulaire’ at IN-DEPENDANCE, Millet presents work from two series, ‘Somnium’ and ‘Astrophile’.
In ‘Somnium’, Millet draws conceptual inspiration from ‘Somnium’, a book by Johannes Kepler, often considered one of the earliest works of proto–science fiction, published in 1634. Kepler’s text imagines a voyage to the Moon as a way to rethink humanity’s position in the cosmos. Millet does not illustrate the book directly — instead, he reactivates its spirit of inquiry and speculation. The series is composed of carefully staged constructions — fragile architectural models, measuring devices, suspended geometric forms, and sculptural assemblages that resemble scientific experiments. Photographed in controlled settings, these objects appear both empirical and imaginary. Shadows, threads, and delicate supports are often visible, emphasising the artificiality of the scene and the human effort behind knowledge-making. ‘Somnium’ becomes a meditation on observation. Rather than presenting the cosmos itself, Millet shows the tools and mental frameworks through which we attempt to grasp it. The photographs hover between laboratory and dream, suggesting that science and imagination are not opposites but intertwined modes of exploration.
With ‘Astrophile’, which literally translates to ‘lover of stars’, Millet deepens his reflection on humanity’s fascination with the sky. Telescopic forms, optical devices, mirrors, and cosmic diagrams appear within the images, staged like relics of an observatory or fragments of forgotten experiments. The works suggest both precision and vulnerability. Instruments designed to measure vast distances seem delicate, almost provisional. By foregrounding these devices, Millet shifts attention away from spectacular astronomical imagery and toward the intimate, human scale of curiosity. The universe is not shown directly - it is implied through traces, alignments, and symbolic constellations. While ‘Somnium' series evokes speculative travel, ‘Astrophile’ focuses more explicitly on the act of looking.
Across both series, Millet’s practice can be understood as a poetic archaeology of science. He reconstructs the gestures, dreams, and material culture of astronomical inquiry, revealing how our understanding of the cosmos is shaped by fragile objects, careful staging, and acts of faith in what cannot be fully seen.
The vernissage of the exhibition will take place on Saturday 21 March from 14:00 to 18:00, in the presence of the artist, who will be signing copies of his book ‘L’Astrophile ou le rêve Circulaire’.
Laurent Millet - Le rêve circulaire | 21.03 - 3.05.2026
Artist talk: Saturday 21 March at 15:00
