I first came across Plossu's work in a huge catalogue, beautifully published in 1997 by the Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno. I was captivated by his language, his singular vision, his expression through photography. Up until this time I had been nurtured on the ideals of objective realism, that photography could define an absolute. Plossu's photographs defined a freedom of seeing, whereas my vision seemed reigned to the prevailing dictates of publishers and magazines. Plossu's photograph of a white tablecloth, Paris, 1970, transfixed me with its audacious simplicity, the placement of a single 'note' of musicality into a darkened space. Instinctively I understood what I was seeing but found myself unable to explain. This was total liberation.

Bernard Plossu, 1970, Paris

Bernard Plossu, 1988, Lisbon, Portugal