From his work, we may gather that Phillipe Ramette likes to contemplate, in a nice suit, sitting upside-down. Tina Leung goes hiking inside the mind of the eccentric French artist.

It is an emotional return to Victoria Harbour for Phillipe Ramette, whose last visit to Hong Kong exactly 10 years ago saw him floating in the very same harbour in a pseudo-balcony, strapped in horizontally, gripping onto the railings and holding on for dear life. This became The Balcony II, which is coincidentally also the French artist’s favourite work in the 36-piece photography exhibition that he brings to the Avenue of Stars this month. And he insists he’s not playing favourites just because he’s back at ground zero. “It was a real adventure to make this photo. Adventure in the sense that it was very difficult to obtain authorisation,” he deadpans.

And more impressive feats has he achieved too. In his work that experiments with the rational and irrational, Ramette is often found either perched or standing in various orientations on rooftops, windowsills, tree trunks – all in utter denial of gravity. This daredevilry continues in his series Rational Exploration of the Undersea in which he had to free-dive, wearing lead weights to appear grounded in the ocean as he reads a map, and strolls casually across the seabed.

But first, a disclaimer: None of it is photoshopped, although Ramette isn’t particularly insulted by those who dismiss it as such. “I am interested more by the reflection and provocation for the people to look.” For disbelievers, he has taken to screen the ‘making of’ videos of his work at the end of his exhibitions, which show him climbing into his ankle harnesses, and is most pleased when viewers return for a second, closer look. Yet it’s not a practice he engages in anymore. “I got some negative reaction, because some people prefer not
to know.”

Ramette first appeared on the French art scene during the 1990s with wooden and metal sculptures and installations, as well as bizarre optical instruments that feature in some of his photos. It was from here he naturally progressed into photography. The sense of organic, unintentional direction he takes in his work makes the questions we prepared for him sound self-evident. When asked about why he’s always dressed in his Sunday best, Ramette shrugs: “At the first photography [session], I was in a suit. It was natural to be in a suit.” This insistence on proper apparel also earned him notoriety with French critics as a “dandy”, which he shrugs off again. “I don’t know if I am a dandy, but for me, it’s important to be more elegant [in the photos] than on a normal day.” Put simply, suiting up is Ramette’s way of honouring what he calls “luxury moments”, the very instances of contemplation he portrays in his work. It is within these quiet periods of intense creativity that he freely observes, ponders, and engages in idea-making. “It’s laziness in a good way,” he laughs.

Freedom is clearly important for this man, who refuses to categorise his own artistic inclinations. He is no performance artist, as “a performance needs a public,” Ramette explains. “It’s the contrary – I want to be discrete.” Nor does he claim influence from surrealism, or Rene Magritte and Buster Keaton, whom he is often compared to. Surprisingly, the closest creative influence for Ramette is François Truffaut. The legendary French filmmaker remained loyal to his alter ego character Antoine Doinel, who appeared in a series of films that began with 1959’s The 400 Blows and spanned two decades. Ramette has adopted the same continuity in his work, which is also the rationale behind his own appearance in all of the photos. Just like any other artist who autographs their paintings, his presence is his “signature”.

When it comes to his next project, Ramette reveals that a choreographer will be involved. When we press him for more, asking if he will put on his dancing shoes, he scoffs. “No, no dancing,” says the man who made his name with a series of gravity-defying feats. “I’m going to fall.”

The Upside Down World of Philippe Ramette is at Tsim Sha Tsui’s Avenue of Stars until May 29.