There is an atmosphere at the Planches Contact festival that invites joy. We embrace each other there, we speak from the heart, we cheerfully celebrate photography, we give, we receive, above all we are received with great generosity, and that feels good. This atmosphere is undoubtedly the work of two people: Philippe Augier, former mayor of Deauville and former director of the French Thoroughbred Sales Agency, initiator of the festival 15 years ago and therefore also passionate about horses, a man to the sincere verb; and Laura Serani, artistic director for 6 editions, always with a pleasant word or smile, exhibition curator or project director in France since the beginning of the 1980s, and who seems to have found a festival in Deauville that suits her perfectly.
At Planches Contact, this year there is also a magnificent tribute to the fashion photographer Dominique Issermann, who by choice is not represented by any gallery, and whose images are often found in public places, where they can be seen by the most people, reflecting a popular sense of photography. In 2016, his images were displayed in black and white in the corridors of Paris airports, in 2024 they will majestically adorn giant cubes on Deauville beach. This same beach on which Dominique Issermann ran with her hair blowing in the wind, pursued by her companion Leonard Cohen on the set of the music video for her song First we take Manhattanin 1986.
Dominique Issermann refused for a long time to be exhibited in Deauville, but finally gave in under the insistence of Laura Serani. “Photography is a leap that transforms time into space. It’s very brief, it will last a long time, no limits, no borders, we are on another planet, right here, freedom reigns”says the writer Philippe Sollers about his work. “You want a collision of details? Here it is. A woman’s dazzled face? A city corner? Twisted nudity? A baby? Pyramids? An artist thinking? Here again. It was enough to be there. How strange that no one is ever there. »
“There are iconic images that you will recognize, there are others less known”, explains Laura Serani. “There are images from fashion. There's a self-portrait here on the left. We didn't want to include legends, we let a bit of this mystery float around Dominique's exhibition. It’s a dive into his world. » In addition to the unmissable photographs on the beach, Dominique Issermann exclusively presented his medium-length film Lyrics, not without appearing weakened by illness, sometimes unable to talk about it, but applauded for long minutes by an entire audience enthusiastic about her work. His film, poetic and singular, transported the audience into a captivating atmosphere, illuminated by rare and moving scenes.
On the beach, or rather at the Grand Bain, on the famous boards which line the beach, the flagship promenade of Deauville, there are also the photographs of Bettina Pittaluga, her series of intimate portraits and singular confidences of people who rest on their bed. Thus, for the artist, the bed is much more than a simple piece of furniture. It becomes a door to the intimate, a place of sincerity and truth. “Thanks to this residency, I was able, for the first time, to start conscious work around the bed and really see what it can mean to make the bed exist in a more personal way, sometimes”she explains . “It’s a mix between my archival work and my work done in Deauville. »
A little further, at the Point de Vue, we find the work of 5 emerging photographers on display, as part of the “Residence for the young talents springboard”. One series in particular, rewarded with the associated prize, catches the eye. “Rose noise”, by Cloé Harent, is an ode to nature, which reveals both the power and the fragility of the biodiversity present on the Normandy foreshores. The tides, omnipresent in this territory, deposit waste from the sea every day. Cloé Harent focuses on showing these little things left by time, inviting us to contemplate iodized micro-landscapes, natural creations of the living world.
“It’s a highlight of biodiversity, but also of the beauty of nature, of the small details that surround us on the beach,” explains the photographer. “You discover my little treasures, my little shells, and I take you on a dive to find these same shells at the bottom of the water. “Pink noise” is the scientific term for the sound you hear when you hold a shell to your ear. This is the name of this sound of waves. In the exhibition, I also offer the visitor prints of images representing my finds on the beach. They are on the ground. The idea is to encourage the visitor to bend down and take an image like I took images on the ground, a bit like bending over to pick up something at the beach. »
Franciscans
Culture in Deauville is above all an emblematic and unique place, Les Franciscaines, which brings together a museum, a media library, and a performance hall where culture is free (with the exception of shows), in a building dating from the 19th century and renovated on several floors. The place serves as the nerve center for the Planches Contact festival, with around ten exhibitions this year, screenings, round tables, and associated events.
Among the photographers present at the Franciscaines, Richard Pak, first known as a documentary photographer, whose work has been exhibited in numerous events for 3 years, and who likes to shake up the codes and explore other artistic practices. For “The Island Thief”, Pak devotes himself to the practice of “enjoyable cutting”, and photographs the Normandy islands then cuts them out directly from his prints. Two works are thus created: a sea without its island and an island without its sea. The artist who has become the collector-pirate that he invented himself, presents an ideal archipelago of the Normandy islands.
Another very notable exhibition this year: that of the artist Phillip Toledano. And for good reason: the New Yorker created the images hanging on the wall entirely using artificial intelligence, in particular the Midjourney application. “Another America” is a surprising rewriting of American history, while “We Are at War” visually resurrects the Normandy landings, on the occasion of its 80th anniversary, and indirectly proposes to recreate the images that Robert Capa would have according to the legend made on the beach and whose negatives would subsequently have disappeared or been damaged. A series which oscillates between historical facts and fake news in the midst of a conspiracy era. “I don’t use Robert Capa’s imagery or his style to create prompts”explains the photographer. “I use his story as a vehicle to talk about what artificial intelligence is capable of achieving. » Laura Serani also states: “Behind Phillip's images, there is intelligence, finesse, a story, there is also a beauty, a strength, a dramaturgy very inspired by cinema. It is not the machine that creates these elements. It's the person behind the machine. »
For the rest of the journey, let us quote: “Once the madness has passed”, by the Chinese artist Huang Xiaoliang. The series explores the duality between the dynamic scenes of a seaside town like Deauville during tourist season and the loneliness that follows. Through various mediums such as video, photography and painting, he illustrates the complex relationships between the individual and their environment, between illusion and reality. Or even “The Century of Vacations”, a collection of photographs from Fnac, which retraces through different eras and places the evolution of the vacation phenomenon, from the resort to the democratization of vacations, up to the era of tourism mass. The images exhibited, taken by a host of famous photographers (Boubat, Ghirri, Erwitt, Kubrick, Plossu, Wenders, etc.) illustrate the evolution of society and its customs, mixing documentary concerns and nostalgia. “Each social transformation is accompanied by a specific language and aesthetic codes; each era has its authors, its historians and, today, its photographers. By offering glimpses into the intimate history of the 20th century, the exhibition also tells the story and evolution of photography”says Laura Serani, who was director of the photo galleries and the Fnac collection from 1985 to 2005.
The last weekend of October, which sees the opening of the festival, finally represents the weekend of the time change, the transition to winter time. In the night from Saturday to Sunday, it is said that there is a 25th hour. “It is for many virtual, except in Deauville, because at this time, we photograph it”says Philippe Augier. “We launched this competition which lasts one hour, during which everyone can bring in an image. Normally, it's at 2 a.m., but we do it at midnight, because we don't want to mess around… On Sunday morning, the jury decides the winner. Last time we had 250 photographs submitted. When you love photography, it's a total joy to see this diversity that can come out of a unique place. »
In addition to this competition open to all, it should be noted that most of the photographers exhibited at Planches Contact carry out their work in residence, and that they are housed between the months of February and June during the year of the edition. In total: around twenty artists. This bias promotes an experience of exchanges between photographers from very diverse origins and profiles, whom the festival team supports throughout their projects. This provokes permanent confrontation and dialogue and contributes to this “laboratory” spirit. After 15 years of existence, Planches Contact is not in full adolescence, but at the dawn of its adulthood.
Festival Boards Contacton view in Deauville until January 5, 2025. Complete program and exhibition locations on the dedicated site.
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