“Love to me is an encounter, a founding moment that shapes and drives life. It is also a  double-edged sword: it is both a compass and a diversion. It is both something that you  keep looking for and something that swoops down on you almightily. It is a source of  delight, inspiration, creativity, enchantment and extasy, and yet the breeding ground for  all torments. 

Capturing love has been for me a sort of proxy coming out. The intensity that I have put in my work matches the pain that I felt in my younger days, when there was no trustworthiness no kindliness around me, and I was deprived from the means to express and uphold who I was as a person who loves. Through my photography, I want to mirror and champion the courage to be oneself, to love freely and to stand out. This is why in particular I chose black and white, which gives a terse and raw representation of emotions.

I have two words that come to my mind: expansion and borderless: I think phones and  social media have pushed the boundaries of love, not only by being a catalyst for  unexpected and thus far more enriching encounters, but also by levelling up the social  acceptance of all kinds of love. But in the end, the outcome remains the same, be it online  or offline: love will always be for better or for worse.”

This series is a part of our ongoing featured topic: LOVE. For this curated collection, we have invited contributors to delve into their perspectives on Love in Today’s Relationships.

Photographer: Sébastien Blanquet-Riviere
Models: Chris, Pedro (IG / X)