Exposition APHRÓS

Both documentary photography and sociological study, the Aphrós series reveals the components of the street, whether living or inert. Romain Bagnard shows what he observed during his stay in the Greek city of Athens as well as in other urban areas. The series is composed of portraits and urban elements, which testify to the harsh reality of the streets. The portraits invite us to be face-to-face with the photographed subject; between attraction and repulsion. They disconcert us. Are we then going to lower our heads and flee the subject or look him straight in the eye? A raw reality of these urban portraits is revealed, the eyes are the reflection of the soul. The very identity of the face is omnipresent by a very tight framing. The different physical distinctions become the proper identity of the shot.
Some photographs may even appear brutal, no filter, no defect is hidden.
Romain Bagnard's work is completely transparent, no aesthetics or embellishment appear in his photographs. But what do these different faces evoke? The revolt ? Helplessness? The reflection ? Introspection?
By his frontal framings, Romain Bagnard imposes the subject, his subject and the direction of reading; there is no possible escape. The clichés of the street without artifice confront us with different textures and materials of the urban environment. A sort of all-over, like in painting.
These photographic encounters seem furtive, but paradoxically, the faces seem neither surprised nor worried by the presence of the photographer. These images make it possible to establish a real dialogue between these faces and the reader. We imagine the photographer talking to these characters... did the conversation continue in a bar? The night is also present, we feel the noise of the city and the nocturnal bustle. The crowd strolls... Everything is to be considered.
His flash shots project us into the heart of the streets. Report. by Emma Gaydier

Opening: Thursday, September 15 from 6 p.m. in the presence of the artist