Covid Skateboarding with Jessy Jean Bart
Back in October, during the Montreal lockdown photographer Félix Renaud had a vision of a different world where the air was no longer breathable and people couldn’t spend time outdoor anymore. So he contacted Jessy Jean Bart, who we have no doubt could survive any world ending event.
Obviously this photo essay was inspired by covid but I also get a Breaking Bad vibe from the photos haha. Can you tell us a bit about the creative process?
These images were inspired by Covid, but also by global warming and forest fires throughout Australia and California in 2020.
We imagined a world where the air would no longer be breathable and too heavy to spend time outdoors.
The whole thing was tinted with the cinematic universe of American films. Like Breaking Bad and Blade Runner series.
What is your background? Usually commercial photographers don’t have the best timing for skate photography but the kickflip and boneless photos are pretty on point.
Haha! That’s funny you’re mentioning it. I practiced skateboarding for about 15 years. My creative side made me quickly pick up the video camera to make clips. To photograph skateboarding well you need to know the sport to understand the correct timing of the moves.
Subsequently, I studied cinema and worked on a few feature films before working as a photographer. Which often justifies my pleasure in creating visuals with cinematic looks.
Any funny stories while shooting these?
The funniest thing was how people looked at Jessy in his jumpsuit with his mask.
How was it dealing with security?
We actually didn’t have any issues with security. Only for the image where Jessy is jumping between two construction trailers, a woman was yelling at us to come down but she kept a safe distance.
How did you and Jessy meet?
I actually didn’t know Jessy. I've been following him on instagram and I liked his raw style and the way he is promoting a healthy lifestyle while skateboarding.
I reached out to him, gave him a few infos about my project and he jumped right in without any hesitation. We shot these pictures in two days back to back in October.
Great job guys! Thanks for sharing the images with us.
Visit Félix's website here for more photos from this series and Jessy's instagram here.
