In Paris, the photo passion of former minister Muriel Pénicaud

What does Muriel Pénicaud do? Minister of Labor from 2017 to 2020 under the government of Édouard Philippe, when she does not sit on the board of directors of large companies? When she is not giving conferences as a former representative of France at the OECD and former CEO of Business France? When she's not writing books (like in 2021 and 2023)? Muriel Pénicaud, also founder, patron and president of the Sakura endowment fund supporting emerging artists, takes photos.

Having already been the subject ofexhibitions on the Asian continentin Beijing and Tokyo, his photographic work is currently revealed in a display on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré and in a beautiful book published by the prestigious publishing house Skira.

Photos taken from all over the world

What do we see there? In the four corners of the world, where Muriel Pénicaud traveled a lotthe people are kind, they are serene, they smile, they sleep. Everyone seems to accept life as it came, even under a veil or behind a door. The photographer capture naturecalm, often in black and white. Wings that curl up, a bird that flies away, faces, silhouettes, a lonely tree in a desert, roots, traces, lines, wind, a lot of wind… It's graphic, it's a little empty.

The kingdom of silence

The author of these very clichéd images confesses in her book his lack of sensationalism : “Photography is my way of taming the world, sharing my disbelief, putting violence at bay and making wonder blaze.

My desire is for each spectator to become the narrator of their own story by projecting their dreams, their fears and their imagination. » We see the kingdom of silence… Who could almost fall asleep if in the basement it didn't rumble.