Happening: Glimpse the Future of Photography
Find out what inspired these five French photographers.
A version of this roundup appeared in our Happening newsletter, a weekly mix of new projects, buzzworthy stories, and other things our team is excited about. Sign up to get it in your inbox every Tuesday (and sometimes, Saturday).
In their own words
We recently teamed up with the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles, France, to spotlight the work of five emerging student and alumni photographers. Today, we’re excited to introduce you to them.
We asked photographers Chloé Wasp, Adrien Vargoz, Prune Phi, Nina Medioni, and Aude Carleton to tell us more about what inspired their projects and what they hope people will take away from their work. Here’s what they had to say.
Jaguares
By Chloé Wasp
Chloé Wasp’s Jaguares will investigate the impact of the mythology of the jaguar on local art and culture in southeastern México.
“This project was inspired by two stays in southeastern México and the tension between dream and reality, jungle landscapes and mental landscapes. This work emerges from a permanent questioning: how to transcribe a state, how to transcribe the unspeakable.
I would like my film to encourage people to connect more with their instinct and their imagination. I like the idea that there is no real distance between the rational world and our dreams, that some things are hovering without us being able to name them.”
Chasing the Sun
By Adrien Vargoz
Adrien Vargoz’s Chasing the Sun will transport you to a village in Norway where the sun didn’t shine for half the year — until one enterprising local did something about it.
“My project is an opportunity to immerse myself in a unique landscape and atmosphere, one where social life has been totally reshaped by mirrors. Before, there was no agora in Rjukan. There was just this place that was used for parking, and now it is where everyone meets.
I want to document how we try to make nature — in this case the sun — benefit us. Asking people to take their own pictures will allow me to account for this social space they have built out of mirrors.”
Hang Up (Raccroche)
By Prune Phi
Prune Phi’s Hang Up (Raccroche) will share stories of youth, culture, and identity in Vietnam.
“In 2017, I travelled across the United States to meet members of my family who had fled the Vietnam War in the late 1970s. Then, in 2018, I met with Vietnamese students who had recently arrived in the south of France, as well as people of Vietnamese descent who were born there. These encounters inspired me to visit Vietnam — the country where my grandfather was born, a place I have never been — to reconnect with my personal history.
I hope Hang Up will speak to people of Asian descent who are not able to explore this unknown side of themselves, and to others who have wondered where they’re from. By blending reality with fictional fragments, I intend to build a memory common to a whole generation through an artistic as well as a social, documentary prism. I hope this project will offer insight into many communities of immigrants worldwide, give a voice to those who will be part of the project, and be useful to generations to come.”
Le Voile (The Veil)
By Nina Medioni
Nina Medioni’s Le Voile (The Veil) will explore ritual and community in an Orthodox Jewish enclave in Israel.
“After my first visit to Bnei Brak, I knew I wanted to document the Orthodox Jewish community there. I was fascinated by the world of my cousin’s children, a world without TV and comics. I wonder how they will grow up: Will they become religious, like their parents? Will they take a different path? And if so, how?
I aim to create a series of portraits of children and teenagers living in this community. I want to help people see that Bnei Brak is more than an austere religious city outside of Tel Aviv. I want to encourage people to look beyond the misconceptions of orthodoxy and see behind the veil. And I hope this project will be seen and understood by people who may not be familiar with Israel or Jewish culture.”
Soleil Torride
By Aude Carleton
Aude Carleton’s Soleil Torride will take her on a journey to Martinique to learn about her West Indian origins.
“In 2018, I traveled to the island of Ouessant (Ushant) in Brittany. As I crossed the sea, I wondered why I had never traveled further. Now, with this project, I want to discover the West Indies. This project is about meeting a father I never I grew up with, about living under another sun.
I hope to live for four months in Martinique, and through photography discover this land — and myself. Art will be a way to share my quest and my discoveries with others.”
