Issue 15

Vinciane Verguethen / Julie Adore / Andre Mortram / Caroline et Éric du Potet / Laurence Guenoun / Lajla / Thomas Jorion / Nancy Breslin / Philippe Fouchard / Gaël T / Jérémie Baldocchi / First Lady Patate / Alexandre Bertin / Dominique Rocher

ISSUE 150310

S U M M A R Y

LINKS

APPEARENCE

WOMEN

SPACES

TESTIMONY

ETERNAL

FREE

« A DAY IN A LIFE OF A WOMAN » Vinciane Verguethen INTERVIEW of the artist Julie Adore

James Andre Mortram INTERVIEW of the directors Caroline and Eric du Potet

« MEDINA » Laurence Guenoun INTERVIEW of the artist Lajla

« STATION SERVICE » Thomas Jorion INTERVIEW of the artist Jeremie Baldocchi

« EARTHQUAKE » Philippe Fouchard INTERVIEW of Mrs Gaël T.

« SQUAREMEALS : A PINHOLE DIARY OF EATING OUT » Nancy Breslin INTERVIEW of the artist First Lady Patate

« THE SLAMMER » Alexandre Bertin INTERVIEW of the director Dominique Rocher

LINKS

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« A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WOMAN » Vinciane Verguethen INTERVIEW of the artist Julie Adore

V I N C I A N E V E R G U E T H E N

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WOMAN WHY DID YOU DO THIS SERIES? Firstly, I wanted to link this series to International Woman’s Day, on the 8th March. I hope that, through some sort of boomerang effect, it will show that this so-called celebration is in fact nothing but an empty symbol. If we were just to take the time, day after day, to accompany a woman living in a segregating village, we would see that this day means nothing at all. This series is like a documentary to me. I visited Mali in November 2009. I wanted to investigate the reality of the images of Africa we are shown. I wanted to bring back photos of what I felt, not of what I wanted feel about Africa. I visited the Manding country and met these women. I hope this series is an honest account of their lives.

ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF THESE WOMEN The day starts with the call to prayer, at around 4am. The sun won’t be up for another couple of hours. In the village, we can see shapes going from hut to hut lighting up the fires to heat up the water for their husband’s morning ablutions. Little by little the village comes to life. The sound of the mortar crushing the maize, unerringly regular, gives the morning its rhythm. By sunrise, the women fetch the water, cook the first meal of the day, clean the dishes and do the washing. By 9am the heat is barely bearable. Nevertheless, they have to collect wood, which means a 5 or 7 km trek in bright sunlight, carrying a load of 20 to 25 kg of wood on their head. By then it is only midday. The day stretches on, mixing maternal duties and community life. In the evening, dancing and singing dries out what little energy remains.

WHAT ARE YOUR PROJECTS? I would like to explore the themes of wood, deforestation, reforestation and sustainable growth in Malinese life. I’d like to carry on with my photography in sub Saharan Africa. On a more local note, I have a residency in Mains d’Oeuvres in saint Ouen. I work on emerging creative processes and I have recently started working on memory and image. I also work with other artists and groups, such as the Fitzcrarraldo Session project and I am always looking for inter disciplinary ventures. http://www.vinciane.net/

J U L I E A D O R E

INTERVIEW YOUR WORK TOOLS ARE NEEDLES AND THREAD. HOW DID IT ALL START? I was born in a family where there was a lot of thread, needles, balls of yarn, crochet hooks and buttons jumbled up in old tin boxes and odd bits of materials. My grandfather loved photography and book bidding, my grandmother used to do crochet, knit, sew and do cross-stitching. My mum played the piano, my dad used to draw, write poetry and drive the harvester.

When I was 10, my gran passed all these skills on to me. Circumstances led me to move to Paris in 2002. Paris, the city of my dreams, the place where creativity awakens, the place where anything is possible. I felt a need to create rumbling deep within me that needed an outlet. It was only after the birth of my daughter that everything started for me. Masha, named after a Russian heroin, is my daily inspiration. I started to create rag dolls and toys for her, then my hands remembered what they had learnt twenty years earlier (my mind was already full of ideas)‌

TELL US ABOUT YOUR UNIVERSE… My world is peopled with vivid colours, naive dreams, flower buds and rag dolls. It is a universe in which the matriohkas dance with the lions, where cherries grow on your hair, where green peas bring you luck, where computers are soft and where a red balloon can lift a man off the ground… To me, creating means sharing, it means being inspired and engrossed.

An idea pops into my head in the morning and the whole process kicks off there and then; and I will stop only when I hold in my hands the results of my daydreaming. My pieces are unique (I am incapable to create the same object twice). Choosing the colours, the material, the tread, all these crucial details, inventing a story to accompany the toy… each and every act of creation is like a model sized life. Being able to brighten up a face, to bring a smile to someone’s lips and hearing “oh, this is cute!” is to me the true reward of my activities as an artist.

WHAT ARE YOUR PROJECTS? I have a full book of them (or even two of them actually)! One of them is a book entitled ”Les petites gourmandises de…“, which I have illustrated in collaboration with Isabelle Kessedjian and Charlotte Vannier. It is a recipe book where all the illustrations are done using material. Pancakes, salamis, kiwi fruit, oranges, lemons, cupcakes and a whole jar of chocolate spread came out of my imaginary kitchen. I also co-organise a weekly contest, called « The serial crocheteuses », on a French blog, where crochet aficionados compete on given themes, such as love, glory, beauty… There is no limit to the creative output. As for my creative resolutions for this coming year, I am focusing on promoting the workshops I offer to children, « Julie aime les dimanches » and start organising workshops for adults too. Crochet is very “in” at the moment.

This year being the Year of Russia in France, I want to develop a slave theme to my practice. I like sharing my techniques, my ideas. I am always on the lookout for artistic co-operations.

Mon site www.julieadore.com Mes œuvres à vendre www.designfromparis.com Mon livre www.trombinabulle.com/nouveaute2

Depuis son lancement en 1998, Actuphoto a su s’imposer parmi les media culturels consacrés à l’actualité photographique ce qui lui a permis d’acquérir la confiance des plus grands organisateurs d’événements photographiques tels que l’agence VU, Magnum photo, la Maison Européenne de la Photographie, le Jeu de Paume, Paris Photo...

LES SERVICES Aux lecteurs • Les annonces des expositions dans toutes les villes où la photographie a joué et joue encore un rôle historique • Les actualités récentes du monde de la photographie • Une sélection d’ouvrages et de parutions • La couverture des principales manifestations, festivals, colloques, rencontres, salons ou signatures…

• Un accès gratuit aux alertes par email Aux photographes • L’annonce des concours, prix, bourses, appels à candidature • L’annuaire des professionnels de la photographie • Une rubrique CARTE BLANCHE mettant en avant des photographes originaux et marginaux à découvrir • Un espace membre permettant aux professionnels, amateurs et photographes d’échanger des informations et de soumettre leurs communiqués de presse ou événements

APPEARENCE

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James Andre Mortram INTERVIEW of the directors Caroline and Eric du Potet

J A M E S A N D R E M O R T R A M

INTERVIEW WHY THIS SERIES? For me it’s vital to use photography to record and highlight the life and lives around us.

INDEPENDENT ARTS AND MINDS‌ It is a new organization that is currently running weekly creative sessions for adults living in Dereham, suffering from stress, anxiety and/or depression. A team of professional community artists with a wide range of specialist areas including sculpture, film and performance lead the friendly, informal drop-in sessions. Some of the work produced will be showcased in public exhibitions, performances and screenings, providing an opportunity to raise awareness of mental health issues in the community, break down stigma, and promote the role of creativity in helping people to recover from mental ill health and stay well. The project also aims to collaborate with other community groups in both making and exhibiting work, thus reducing the isolation people suffering from mental ill health are known to experience particularly in rural areas.

FUTURE PROJETS Documenting an Animal Welfare Charity and their Investigations into Animal Cruelty and an ongoing project into the effects of living as a victim the effects of the Thalidomide drug. http://www.flickr.com/photos/polaroidsky/ http://www.flickr.com/people/independentartsandminds/

C A R O L I N E E T E R I C

D U P O T E T

IN YOUR SLEEP WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY AS A CINEMA GOER? Eric: My earliest cinema memory must be Star Wars, episode V: The empire strikes back. I went to see it with my grandfather when it came out. I was impressed. I have watched it many times since then and always with the same pleasure. Caroline: My parents used to take me with them to the cinema when I was little, so I don’t really remember what my first cartoons were. On the other hand, I clearly remember watching The Living Daylight. I was five year old and I was so happy, because I was allowed to watch a grown up movie. I really liked the action scenes.

TELL US MORE ABOUT “ IN YOUR SLEEP ” This movie was born of the desire to do a French thriller. It is a genre that we really like, because it is very demanding and requires a lot of effort to create a climate of distress and unease, while still giving psychological depth to the characters. The fact that it is entertaining also allows us to explore darker themes, themes that are difficult to broach in a first movie, such as grief, vengeance and madness. We also wanted to play with the notion of appearances and show that they can lie. This means that the movie was written in flashback mode straight from its conception. This allows to change point of views and to bring a new light to the story and the characters. The plot, seen through a different angle, is constantly reinvented, thus surprising and troubling the spectator.

DO YOU HAVE ANY STORIES ABOUT THE FILMING? The filming was pretty hard, because we had only 30 days to do it all, most of it being exterior night shots. Moreover, it was often raining, and that wasn’t in the script! One of the main technical problems we encountered was for the filming of a scene in which the actors end up upside down after a car accident. The stunt team had to invent a kind of giant roasting spit spearing the car through and through, moved by hand. This enabled them to rotate the car quickly, so that the actors didn’t have to remain head down for too long.

WHAT ARE YOUR PROJECTS? We are currently working on a psychological thriller entitled TOTEM. Philippe Torreton and Robinson Stevenin will be the main actors, but the budget isn’t secure yet. http://www.danstonsommeil-lefilm.fr/

WOMEN

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« MEDINA » Laurence Guenoun INTERVIEW of the artist Lajla

L A U R E N C E G U E N O U N

MEDINA THIS SERIES… ...is of wanderings through the Medina in Marrakech. I love walking through this city.

WOMEN AND CHILDREN Many of the women live in conditions of extreme poverty, especially unmarried mothers. Through begging, they are able to survive. The lives of many of the children had distressed as well. Many of them must work at a young age.

YOUR PROJECTS… I’ll return to Marrakech to take more photographs. www.laurenceguenoun.com www.takeatour.fr

INTERVIEW L A J L A

WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR INSPIRATION? In the fashion world, but it is only a guise for my creation of the actual image and style. I was already bathing in art ever since my childhood thanks to my father, and later thanks to my passionate fine art professors. I always loved the work of artists such as VillĂŠglĂŠ, Rauschenberg, Rosenquist, and Warhol, all who take images of the media, of daily life and then make it their own and retell the story. I work in much the same way as I study the visual arts: first there is the citation, the work of art that serves as the base, then I retell it through my own interpretations, my own digestion of things.

I am not a fan of style, but I love the image of style. I dress these images in the same way I would put make up on the faces of stars on magazine covers when I was little. Just as if an image has a million different stories, the model could become a million different girls, rather than be frozen as one... I make it all my own.

HOW DO YOU CREATE YOUR IMAGES? With time, I personally take my own photos of models, and there the work is slightly different; I have to determine beforehand what story I will tell, and this leaves less room for chance and discovery. When I begin a work of art, I usually do not even know where I will end up. I like the idea of the spontaneous; let ideas come, then let some go. I take photographs using the fewest possible elements, which could help me express what I want later. As I have always done during my childhood, I ‘dress’ the photos after I cut out the figure, and then add to it a skirt or a T-shirt. I often say I play with Barbie when I do that. I then intervene mostly by hand: I scan, print, paste, re-scan and draw.... I could never not intervene manually, as I have always drawn; there is this need for sketched lines, of things done by hand and the spirit of the “travel journal”-- of searching, of projects that are incomplete, and to once again give a sense of craftsmanship in this impersonal world.

My desire is certainly not to hide my own personal handwork; it is quite the contrary.

OTHER PROJECTS? I am working on a project with Celine Delachaux (a young, talented creator) of which the world of pop / hand made crafts was the main source of inspiration. I love combination and the discrepancies, and I would love to work with other talented people like her in the future. http://www.lajlatoullec.com http://www.myspace.com/popelinesurmyspace

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« STATION SERVICE » Thomas Jorion INTERVIEW of the artist Jérémie Baldocchi

T H O M A S J O R I O N

STATION SERVICE HOW DID THIS SERIES COME ABOUT? This series came about pretty naturally, as many of my photo series do. One day, I realised that I was always stopping along side the road to photograph abandoned service stations that I came upon. I decided to formalise the way that I was taking them and this series was born.

SCOUTING… Scouting is done in many ways; by taking a day and driving around at the will of the roads that are less travelled, due to freeways, also by using modern research tools: Google, Google earth.

YOUR CURRENT PROJECTS… My current projects also involve places that have been abandoned, but certain consequences of consumption in society as well. I came to realise that these subjects are often linked.

One last word on the service stations… These are standard buildings of the ‘people of the road’, ignored and disregarded, they were once a receptacle of the freedoms, and fantasies of the architecture in their region. Now more than ever, they represent a symbol of the last century. It’s also a type of place that we, as society of consumers, inevitably cross. Much like travel terminals, these buildings are engraved in travel symbology. It’s a place of a change in trajectory for a given period of life. http://mandradesign.free.fr/

J É R É M I E B A L D O C C H I

INTERVIEW TELL US ABOUT YOUR WORLD… Through my images, I strive to create beauty in things that are not beautiful at first glance. There are objects that certain people love, while simultaneously hated by many others. It is precisely this that I find fascinating. The fact is that one’s eyes do not reflect the same world, people and objects as another’s. This theme is completely tied to the obsession that I have for the body and all its deviations, distortions, imperfections and anomalies. The colors are vivid with warm, welcoming homes but the “malaise” of these characters is perceptible. I prefer to focus on the daily life, human shortcomings and habits, and sometimes the absurdity of certain situations—all are my principle sources of inspiration.

YOUR ARTISTIC TECHNIQUE? My images are created from a mixture of collage, ink and paint.

When I have an idea for an image, I organize a type of “casting”; I choose from my pile of sketches the “characters” that seem best suited to the overall subject (I sketch about 1000 pages of drawings per year). Once I make these painful choices, I design the settings and decorations. Afterwards, I choose the costumes, the materials and the color schemes, just as a filmmaker or a designer would do. The technique of creating collages is what suits me best. I began creating collages when I was only a university student; since then, I have never stopped creating them. It also gives me a certain flexibility in the conception of my “staging”. Acrylic paint is also incredibly useful in my work, as it is a medium that dries very quickly and thus allows one to affix any other images over it. As for the use of different inks, it allows me to broaden my range of colors.

OTHER PROJECTS? I just finished two expositions: “30 paintings for the three years of the Fnac Forum” and an exposition at the gallery Espora in Madrid. I am preparing another one for the next school year, and I am also in the process of creating 4 works of a huge scale, which is a first for me (1.60 by 1.20 meters). And then a little afterwards, I will present my work at the FIAC. http://www.jeremiebaldocchi.com/ http://www.jeremiebaldocchiblog.com/ http://www.myspace.com/lepetitmondedejeremie http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeremie-Baldocchi/46178289248?ref=mf http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremiebaldocchi/

TÉMOIGNAGE

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« EARTHQUAKE » Philippe Fouchard INTERVIEW of Gaël T.

P H I L I P P E F O U C H A R D

EARTHQUAKE ARE YOU A PHOTOJOURNALIST? No, I am a photographer of testimonies. It takes at least a day or two for me to take one good photograph. Gaining acceptance with its “eye” takes a lot of time; it is quite the opposite of the instantaneous snapshots of photojournalists who just needs to snap an image when reporting. That being said, I adapt myself to the reports, where the agency waits for my pictures of the previous day!

ABOUT THIS SERIES: The earthquake of Pulau Nias—Nias Island—in Indonesia, on March 28, 2005, should not be forgotten so quickly. In the world, one catastrophe simply replaces another; it is harmful for the millions of people that wait for promised aid, including the Indonesian government. After five days of complete chaos, I returned to Jakarta. Before my computer, I dozed off, absolutely exhausted. Can I create my own nightmares? On the nightmare: the agency never sold my photos for the next day, the Pope had passed away, as well as the Sovereign Prince of Monaco in the same breath. The media had moved on to this other story. Yet an assessment of the earthquake at Nias Island in Sumatra, West of Indonesia, reported more than 1000 people dead!

YOUR PROJECTS… I’m returning to Indonesia to photograph the children on the streets of Jakarta, a project, which, I hope, will serve the L’ONG LYSISTRATA. I’m working on a book on Indonesian merchants and artisans. And in France, at this moment, on a gypsy painter, and a project on La Touraine. http://www.fouchardphotographe.com http://twitter.com/pfouchard http://www.flickr.com/photos/fouchardphotographe

G A Ë L T

THE BILINGUAL THIRD GRADE THIS PROJECT OF SELF PORTRAITS… I teach French to two bilingual French-German language classes of the third grade in elementary school. There are more than fifty students from CE2, CM1 and CM2, who all worked on this project in creating self-portraits. For several years already, we have been treating the more general theme on the portrait, whether in writing or the visual arts. Two years ago, each of the children had to design portraits of monsters described by a fellow student; last year, they had to complete half of a self portrait next to their photographic image cut in half. This year, they addressed the idea of the “distorted self portrait,” by analyzing works of cubism.

ON THE CHOICE OF MATERIALS USED… Because of the lack of funds, and also the lack of time due to other classwork (classes at the intermediate level, a bilingual site, a busy class schedule), the children simply used markers and coloring crayons.

THE CHILD AND THE SELF PORTRAIT… The children had a true fascination for everything related to portraiture, especially work regarding their own self-portraits.

They do not yet have the adolescent complexes that would deter the teenagers from engaging in a project related to their physical appearances. The addition of a touch of imagination, either by distortion or through other projects such as “the ideal Me” inspires and leads to a lot of creative, amazing accomplishments.

Digital Photo Professional, plus communément appelé «DPP», est le logiciel de traitement d’images édité par Canon et fourni gratuitement avec tous les reflex numériques de la marque. Spécialisé dans le développement des fichiers RAW «Canon», il permet aussi de travailler au post-traitement des images JPEG et TIFF via une interface simple et des outils judicieusement choisis, faciles à appréhender et à maîtriser. Ainsi, en plus d’être le seul logiciel capable de donner accès à toute l’information contenue dans les fichiers CR2 issus des boîtiers Canon, ce «dématriceur» qui a sa place parmi les meilleurs du marché est un formidable outil d’apprentissage du traitement des fichiers RAW pour les photographes qui travailleraient pour la première fois avec un logiciel de développement.

Cet e-book est le tout premier titre en langue française entièrement dédié à DPP. Après une présentation des principales fonctionnalités du logiciel et un rappel des notions essentielles à un traitement d’images maîtrisé (exposition, luminosité, histogramme…), il propose une découverte par la pratique des points forts du logiciel à travers une vingtaine d’exemples concrets détaillés pas à pas.

ETERNAL

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« SQUAREMEALS: A PINHOLE DIARY OF EATING OUT » Nancy Breslin INTERVIEW of the artist First Lady Patate

N A N C Y B R E S L I N

SQUAREMEALS : A PINHOLE DIARY OF EATING OUT HOW WAS THIS SERES STARTED? I was working with traditional film cameras in 2002 when I purchased my pinhole camera, the Zero 2000, on impulse. Shortly later I was having lunch with a friend and put the camera on the table for an exposure while we ate. I was very taken with the resulting image: a runway of table, my friend Cindy all blurry, tie-dye wall hangings. Since that time I have always had this camera (along with a light meter and mini-tripod) in my bag.

WHY THE PINHOLE (WOULD YOU DO IT WITH A “STANDARD CAMERA”?)

Meals seem like a perfect pinhole subject, with the mixture of movement and stillness. I don’t ask anyone to pose.

The camera just compresses the meal into a single frame. Photographing all of my meals with a lensed camera would create an entirely different project - straight documentation of my friends and family eating. Instead, the pinhole camera oddly twists my experience. The long exposures (a few seconds to an hour or more) cause the things that drew my attention at the time (mostly the people I was with) to become ghostly, while the wide-angle and infinite depth of field highlight items I might not have noticed, such as salt shakers and ceiling lamps.

ANY PROJECT OR EXHIBITION PLANNED? This pinhole diary is ongoing (6 years and counting), as are two other pinhole projects. I have been photographing amusement parks and rides whenever I travel, and features of hotels where we stay. I have also begun my first serious color project.

Using a Diana (an inexpensive plastic camera) I have been shooting colorful American scenes and creating digital negatives for gum bichromate over cyanotype printing. These vintage processes are time consuming but beautiful. www.nancybreslin.com www.flickr.com/squaremeals

F I R S T L A D Y P A T A T E

INTERVIEW TECHNIQUE I draw primarily in Moleskines. These are very small sketchbooks often used by artists and writers. The first who spoke of the «Moleskine» was the English writer Chatwin in his novel «The Songlines» published in 1987. Moleskine comes from «mole skin» and is bound in traditional oil-cloth. I like the color and feel of the paper. The small size reassures me. It gives me the feeling that it holds my secrets. I like to take my pencil and sharpen it a bit, then put ink on it. I use all kinds of techniques: felts, alcohol felts, ink from China, acrylic paints... I am inspired by all that is around me.

YOUR CHOICE OF MOLESKINE… I started with one pocket-sized Moleskine (9x14 cm) because it was practical. I wanted to draw in the train. The more I drew in the train, the more I liked it and the more I drew. A virtuous circle! I ended up with the entire collection: the pocket size, the large format (13x21 cm) with every paper possible. I am comfortable with the thick paper. I allow me to use paint. The only thing I haven’t started is aquarelle. I’m not comfortable with using water. Mastering this element requires an introduction and a lot of practice to get the results that I have in mind.

YOUR FUTURE PROJECTS AND WISHES… That the drawing bug never leaves me! http://cargocollective.com/mamzelleaime http://firstladypatate.tumblr.com

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« THE SLAMMER » Alexandre Bertin INTERVIEW of the director Dominique Rocher

A L E X A N D R E B E R T I N

THE SLAMMER PHOTOGRAPHY FOR YOU IS… Its a game, nothing more, nothing less ABOUT THIS SERIES… This series is the result of reading a novel by Hubert Selby Jr. and a personal reflection on the notion of imprisonment.

YOUR PROJECTS… To continue to have as much fun as I can, to play and experiment. http://alexandrebertin.viewbook.com/

D O M I N I Q U E R O C H E R

FALLIN’ HOW WAS THIS SHORT FILM CONCEIVED? Buffalo Corp, a group of filmmakers that I am part of, organizes regular artistic sessions, based on a chosen theme, in order to experiment and to open grounds for creative expression apart from the more commercial projects. A few months ago, we produced a session on Japanese haikus. The theme was «Heads or Tails».

INSPIRED BY… The original idea was that of Morgan S. Dalibert, and it tells the story of a trick played on a roof between two friends.

I re-worked the idea to take place in a game of seduction between a young man and a young woman. I immediately offered the female role to Lucie Boujenah, with whom I wanted to work with, and it was she who suggested Marie Coulangeon for the male role. I found it an interesting idea to tell the same story, but played by two women, without changing the intentions.

The magic trick was the original idea and it was kept in the script, but in the end it serves to reveal their emotions.

YOUR FUTURE PROJECTS… I have written many projects this year: some short films, some longer, about 15 - 20 minutes, in a realistic fantasy universe.

I did some TV series (drama and comedy), and one full-length film. Looking for financing for some and producers for others.

I continue to develop activity at Buffalo Corp., the production company that we created a year and a half ago for publicity and fiction. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xc1crh_fallin_shortfilmsundefined http://www.buffalocorp.fr/

Have participated to this issue: LAURENCE GUENOUN - PUBLICATION DIRECTOR / AD CARINE LAUTIER - EDITOR IN CHIEF CANDICE NGUYEN - COMMUNICATION & ADVERTISING +33 689 921 043 JÖRG FISCHER - GRAPHIC DESIGNER / AD MATHIEU DROUET - WEBMASTER ÉRIC BATTISTELLI - JOURNALIST CHRISTOPHE DILLINGER - TRANSLATION ERIN KIM - TRANSLATION THOMAS BRANCONIER - TRANSLATION VINCIANE VERGUETHEN©- PHOTO COVER

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