Born January 1 1987 in SW France, Yogan Müller is a landscape scholar, photographer and instructor.
His science background exerts a profound influence on his photography: he seeks the beauty of what is. Furthermore, establishing contact with the world of the Anthropocene and the ecological crisis is paramount to him.
In the Fall of 2019, he joined the Counterforce Lab a group of ecologically-minded visual artists and designers led by Pr. Dr. Rebeca Méndez at the UCLA Department of Design Media Arts (DMA). He started teaching as a Visiting Lecturer at DMA in January 2020.
In November 2018, he graduated from a practice-based PhD in landscape photography and epistemology from ENSAV La Cambre and Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. In his practice-based thesis, he shows how photography was instrumental in making us enter the geological picture of the Anthropocene. Between 2012 and 2017, the Reykjanes peninsula in SW Iceland served as a proving ground. He photographed the transformation of the volcanic landscape the booming Icelandic tourist industry brought about.
His work appears in the collection of Galerie Été 78 (Brussels, Belgium) and Bibliothèque National de France (BnF, Paris, France).
He lives and works in Los Angeles where he has been working part-time for fine art photographer Mona Kuhn as well as designer Rebeca Méndez.
Education
2018: Practice-Based PhD in landscape photography and epistemology, ENSAV La Cambre and Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
2010: MA Moving Image (rank: 2), University of Bordeaux, France.
2008: BA Moving Image, University of Bordeaux, France.
2007: BA Maths, University of Bordeaux, France.
Teaching
2021: Desma 160, Special Topics, “Photography and Ecology”, Fall quarter, TA: Don Edler, Guest lecturer: Karen Hellman (Getty Museum); DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
2021: Desma 404, Visiting MFA tutorials, Spring quarter, DMA, UCLA.
2021: Desma 404, Visiting MFA tutorials, Winter quarter, DMA, UCLA.
2021: Desma 160, Special Topics, "Photography and Ecology", Winter quarter, TA: Alvaro Azcárraga; Guest lecturers: Marie-José Jongerius, Mark Ruwedel, Rebeca Méndez; DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
2020: Desma 160, Special Topics, "Anthropocene and Digitization", Fall quarter, TA: Alvaro Azcárraga; Guest lecturers: Jean-François Blanchette (IS, UCLA), Johanna Drucker (DMA & IS, UCLA), Yvonne Lee (LACMA), Sharon Mustri (BloombergNEF), David Nuñez (MIT Museum), DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
2020: Desma 154, Word and Image, "For Good Measure", Spring quarter, co-taught with Pr. Dr. Rebeca Méndez, TA: Zeynep Abes, DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
2020: Desma 404, Visiting MFA tutorial, Winter quarter, DMA, UCLA.
2020: Desma 173, Special Topics in Visual Communication and Image, "Landscape Photography and Energy", TA: Erin Cooney, DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
Selected Exhibitions
2020: Phenomenology of Hope, group show (curators: Eli Joteva, Khang Nguyen, Kio Griffith), August 8-September 30, http://www.phenomenologyofhope.com
2018: Practice-based thesis solo show, Galerie Été 78 in collaboration with ENSAV La Cambre and Université libre de Bruxelles, November 27–28, Brussels, Belgium.
2018: A Forest, group show (curator: Laurent Courtens), L'Iselp (www.iselp.be), September 21–December 15, Brussels, Belgium.
2018: Paradis infernaux/Enfer paradisiaque, group show, 6th triennial of Photography and Architecture (curator: Marc Mawet), March 15–May 18, Faculté d’architecture La Cambre-Horta, Brussels, Belgium.
2017: Hraun , solo show, Reykjavík Photography Museum (Ljósmyndasafn Reykjavíkur), October 5–December 12, Reykjavík, Iceland.
2015: Hraun, solo show (curator: Laurent Courtens), L'Iselp (www.iselp.be), November 26–December 12, Brussels, Belgium.
2015: The Cloud of Unknowing, group show (curator: Pieter Vermeulen), January 15–30, Hôtel van de Velde, Brussels, Belgium.
2014: La chaleur de l'usure, group show (curators: Amélie de Beauffort and Pierre Baumann), November 6–December 13, Brussels, Belgium.
2014: Sérendipité, group show (curator: Alain van der Hofstadt), January 29–February 28, Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium.
2012: Projective spaces, solo show, Semaine du son 2012, January 16–28, Forum des Arts de Talence, France.
2011: La part des anges, solo show in collaboration with Charlotte Villard, February 11–12, Château Pape-Clément, Pessac, France.
2010: Multiple Bordeaux, city-wide solo show, May 26th–June 10th, Bordeaux, France.
Awards, accolades, workshops
2019: Bourse du talent #80, finalist, Paris, France.
2017: Alice et David van Buuren fund, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
2011: Special prize, Bernard Magrez Cultural Institute, Bordeaux, France.
2011: FotoDoks photography festival workshop under the patronage of Thomas Dzorwak (Magnum Photos), October 12-16, Munich, Germany.
2009: Masterclass workshop under the patronage of Stuart Franklin (Magnum Photos), Noorderlicht photography festival, Gröningen, The Netherlands.
2009: City of Bordeaux Cultural Fund, France.
2008: Magnum Photos masterclass workshop, University of Brighton, United Kingdom.
2007: French student photographer of the year, 3rd prize, Paris, France.
Artist residencies
2018: Cheval noir, May and June, Brussels, Belgium.
2017: SÍM, September and October, Reykjavík, Iceland.
2016: AIRE, March, Dexia Art Center, Brussels, Belgium.
2015: ISELP, November and December, Brussels, Belgium.
2013: NES, April through June, Skagaströnd, Iceland.
2012: SCRIME, Dec. 2011 & Jan. 2012, University of Bordeaux, France.
2011: SÍM, January-April, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Internships
2009: Magnum Photos, February-March, London, UK.
2006: Agence France Press, January + August, Paris & Bordeaux, France.
Collections
Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF), Paris, France.
Galerie Été 78, Brussels, Belgium.
Press
2020: Ashley Lifton, “With online instruction, DESMA classes foster collaboration and creativity”, The Daily Bruin, April 22 2020, read online.
2020: “Topography of a Spirit”, Interview with Mona Kuhn, L’Œil de la photographie, read online.
2018: Jean-Marc Bodson, La Libre Belgique (Belgium).
2015: Danielle Leenaerts, “Ce que la recherche fait à l’art”, L’Art Même (Belgium), no. 67, page 41, read online.
His science background exerts a profound influence on his photography: he seeks the beauty of what is. Furthermore, establishing contact with the world of the Anthropocene and the ecological crisis is paramount to him.
In the Fall of 2019, he joined the Counterforce Lab a group of ecologically-minded visual artists and designers led by Pr. Dr. Rebeca Méndez at the UCLA Department of Design Media Arts (DMA). He started teaching as a Visiting Lecturer at DMA in January 2020.
In November 2018, he graduated from a practice-based PhD in landscape photography and epistemology from ENSAV La Cambre and Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. In his practice-based thesis, he shows how photography was instrumental in making us enter the geological picture of the Anthropocene. Between 2012 and 2017, the Reykjanes peninsula in SW Iceland served as a proving ground. He photographed the transformation of the volcanic landscape the booming Icelandic tourist industry brought about.
His work appears in the collection of Galerie Été 78 (Brussels, Belgium) and Bibliothèque National de France (BnF, Paris, France).
He lives and works in Los Angeles where he has been working part-time for fine art photographer Mona Kuhn as well as designer Rebeca Méndez.
Education
2018: Practice-Based PhD in landscape photography and epistemology, ENSAV La Cambre and Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
2010: MA Moving Image (rank: 2), University of Bordeaux, France.
2008: BA Moving Image, University of Bordeaux, France.
2007: BA Maths, University of Bordeaux, France.
Teaching
2021: Desma 160, Special Topics, “Photography and Ecology”, Fall quarter, TA: Don Edler, Guest lecturer: Karen Hellman (Getty Museum); DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
2021: Desma 404, Visiting MFA tutorials, Spring quarter, DMA, UCLA.
2021: Desma 404, Visiting MFA tutorials, Winter quarter, DMA, UCLA.
2021: Desma 160, Special Topics, "Photography and Ecology", Winter quarter, TA: Alvaro Azcárraga; Guest lecturers: Marie-José Jongerius, Mark Ruwedel, Rebeca Méndez; DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
2020: Desma 160, Special Topics, "Anthropocene and Digitization", Fall quarter, TA: Alvaro Azcárraga; Guest lecturers: Jean-François Blanchette (IS, UCLA), Johanna Drucker (DMA & IS, UCLA), Yvonne Lee (LACMA), Sharon Mustri (BloombergNEF), David Nuñez (MIT Museum), DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
2020: Desma 154, Word and Image, "For Good Measure", Spring quarter, co-taught with Pr. Dr. Rebeca Méndez, TA: Zeynep Abes, DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
2020: Desma 404, Visiting MFA tutorial, Winter quarter, DMA, UCLA.
2020: Desma 173, Special Topics in Visual Communication and Image, "Landscape Photography and Energy", TA: Erin Cooney, DMA, UCLA. Browse the class website.
Selected Exhibitions
2020: Phenomenology of Hope, group show (curators: Eli Joteva, Khang Nguyen, Kio Griffith), August 8-September 30, http://www.phenomenologyofhope.com
2018: Practice-based thesis solo show, Galerie Été 78 in collaboration with ENSAV La Cambre and Université libre de Bruxelles, November 27–28, Brussels, Belgium.
2018: A Forest, group show (curator: Laurent Courtens), L'Iselp (www.iselp.be), September 21–December 15, Brussels, Belgium.
2018: Paradis infernaux/Enfer paradisiaque, group show, 6th triennial of Photography and Architecture (curator: Marc Mawet), March 15–May 18, Faculté d’architecture La Cambre-Horta, Brussels, Belgium.
2017: Hraun , solo show, Reykjavík Photography Museum (Ljósmyndasafn Reykjavíkur), October 5–December 12, Reykjavík, Iceland.
2015: Hraun, solo show (curator: Laurent Courtens), L'Iselp (www.iselp.be), November 26–December 12, Brussels, Belgium.
2015: The Cloud of Unknowing, group show (curator: Pieter Vermeulen), January 15–30, Hôtel van de Velde, Brussels, Belgium.
2014: La chaleur de l'usure, group show (curators: Amélie de Beauffort and Pierre Baumann), November 6–December 13, Brussels, Belgium.
2014: Sérendipité, group show (curator: Alain van der Hofstadt), January 29–February 28, Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium.
2012: Projective spaces, solo show, Semaine du son 2012, January 16–28, Forum des Arts de Talence, France.
2011: La part des anges, solo show in collaboration with Charlotte Villard, February 11–12, Château Pape-Clément, Pessac, France.
2010: Multiple Bordeaux, city-wide solo show, May 26th–June 10th, Bordeaux, France.
Awards, accolades, workshops
2019: Bourse du talent #80, finalist, Paris, France.
2017: Alice et David van Buuren fund, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
2011: Special prize, Bernard Magrez Cultural Institute, Bordeaux, France.
2011: FotoDoks photography festival workshop under the patronage of Thomas Dzorwak (Magnum Photos), October 12-16, Munich, Germany.
2009: Masterclass workshop under the patronage of Stuart Franklin (Magnum Photos), Noorderlicht photography festival, Gröningen, The Netherlands.
2009: City of Bordeaux Cultural Fund, France.
2008: Magnum Photos masterclass workshop, University of Brighton, United Kingdom.
2007: French student photographer of the year, 3rd prize, Paris, France.
Artist residencies
2018: Cheval noir, May and June, Brussels, Belgium.
2017: SÍM, September and October, Reykjavík, Iceland.
2016: AIRE, March, Dexia Art Center, Brussels, Belgium.
2015: ISELP, November and December, Brussels, Belgium.
2013: NES, April through June, Skagaströnd, Iceland.
2012: SCRIME, Dec. 2011 & Jan. 2012, University of Bordeaux, France.
2011: SÍM, January-April, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Internships
2009: Magnum Photos, February-March, London, UK.
2006: Agence France Press, January + August, Paris & Bordeaux, France.
Collections
Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF), Paris, France.
Galerie Été 78, Brussels, Belgium.
Press
2020: Ashley Lifton, “With online instruction, DESMA classes foster collaboration and creativity”, The Daily Bruin, April 22 2020, read online.
2020: “Topography of a Spirit”, Interview with Mona Kuhn, L’Œil de la photographie, read online.
2018: Jean-Marc Bodson, La Libre Belgique (Belgium).
2015: Danielle Leenaerts, “Ce que la recherche fait à l’art”, L’Art Même (Belgium), no. 67, page 41, read online.