Homo Detritus. Photography by Stéphan Gladieu Text by Wilfried N’Sondé

20 × 30 cm 48 pages 44 color illustrations softback bilingual french/english june 2022 retail price: 22 €

Born in 1997, Julia Gat is a photographer based in Marseille. At the intersection between documentary and portraiture, her work explores human interaction in its purest form. Exhibited at the Netherland’s Museum of Photography (2021-2022), Khamsa khamsa khamsa won the isem Young photographer prize (2020) and the visitor’s Steenbergen Stipendium prize (2021).

Exhibition Les Rencontres d’Arles 2022

event Julia Gat

Khamsa, the number five in Arabic, is repeated three times as a protective mantra. This work is a visual autobiography in the form of a family archive. With its intermittent portraits of friends and domestic tableaux, the work focuses on five main protagonists: her sisters Sara and Nina, her brothers Michael and Jonathan, and Julia, the fifth sibling whose presence is projected on them from behind her lens. Julia Gat tells the stories of childhood and teenage years growing up with her four brothers and sisters, schooled outside the education system via alternative teaching methods. Through images of what ressembles a family album, the artist developed her own distinct photographic approach. As she observes the faces of friends and family around her, their changing bodies and the beautiful Mediterranean landscapes, Julia Gat tells her story. For the artist, documenting her daily life created a breadcrumb trail via which, from the maturity of adulthood, she kept in touch with her inner child: “When I was 10, I promised myself I’d never forget how a child sees the world: everything is fresh and new, the imagination blurs with reality and the unknown is fascinating.” “Khamsa khamsa khamsa is an invitation to bring a new sense of freedom to the process of learning, a blessing for which I am grateful.” At a time when home-schooling is increasingly restricted by government policies, Julia Gat’s first publication is a tribute to a different form of education based on experimentation, allowing early artistic expression to flourish. The artist’s work is a candid portrait of her upbringing and reveals a talent openly embracing the freedom to tell her own story.

24 Michael Légende et date 25 Michael et Sara Légende et date Jonathan Légende et date 34 Jonathan Légende et date 35