From November 22 to 24, 2024, Sonia Sieff, French photographer, exhibits her works for free at the La Cité gallery, rue Réaumur, in Paris. The exhibition, entitled Big Bangis a collaboration with the Natural Diamond Council.
Sonia was trained by her father, Jean-Loup Sieff, photographer behind the nude of Yves Saint-Laurent. She received her first camera at sixteen. She began her career in the world of cinema and fashion. Sonia stood out in 2017 with the publication of The French. A collection of photos of women around him captured without retouching. In 2024, she signs a new work, Appointmentwhere she photographed one hundred and seventy-six naked men encountered across Europe. This artistic approach also extends to the project 100 pour The World. She immortalizes one hundred personalities involved in the Me Too movement in France, in order to denounce violence against women.
For this Parisian exhibition, Sonia Sieff directs her lens towards the diamond, a stone that fascinates. She explores it from all angles, revealing little-known facets. In collaboration with the Natural Diamond Council, she captures the multiple symbolisms of this stone, comparing it to a contemplative and timeless journey. Through her images, she links the journey of this precious stone to themes of the creation of the universe and transformation over time.
Sieff takes a very personal look, evoking the idea of raw and organic beauty. She explains: “These unpolished, raw stones possess a beauty that surpasses perfection. They recall a universe in miniature, a dance between light and shadow, brightness and darkness. The light reflected there evokes the human body, with its secrets revealed by intimate attention.”
Indeed, through this project, Sieff and the Natural Diamond Council invite the public to rediscover the diamond in a different light: not only as a symbol of luxury, but also as a reflection of the natural forces and transformations that have shaped it. .
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