Regan Elena: Visual Research, Photography and Literary Narratives

Regan Elena is a Paris-based visual researcher and writer whose multidisciplinary practice explores the “mutable relationship between the photographic arts and literature.” Through her work, Elena investigates how these two mediums function as critical vessels for cultural and ancestral memory. She describes her primary analytical tool as the “lens of language,” using it to retrace the breadth of visual narratives and literary imaginaries that shape our understanding of history and the self. Elena’s academic and creative background is rooted in the study of phototextuality. As an editor and researcher at Sorbonne University, she produced the significant study “L'autofiction comme fantasme de l'image,” which provides a critical analysis of Hervé Guibert’s “L'Image Fantôme.” This research delves into the inherent mysteries of photography and the ways in which the absence of images can trigger a profound literary imagination concerning the limits of life and memory. In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Regan Elena participates in contemporary art exhibitions that bridge the gap between theory and visual practice. She was a featured artist in the “Radicale 1924” project at the Maisons André Breton and Musée Rignault in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, an event that revised Surrealism's legacy through collaborative research and creation. Her contributions to the field of visual culture include explorations of photography, art direction, and literary journalism. By examining the intersections of word and image, Elena continues to expand the boundaries of how we perceive, remember, and document the human experience.