Laurent Thérèse

Laurent Thérèse was born in Nice where he lives and works. After studying Ancient History at the University of Sophia-Antipolis, he discovered photography after returning from a first trip to the Middle East. A first series "Urban Western", inspired by the world of John Ford allows him to be noticed in Arles in 2009. In parallel with this series, he begins work on the coast of the French and Italian Riviera which tends to show the other side of the Riviera, that of a less flashy and touristy reality. The route that Laurent Therese has chosen is not the easiest, classic black and white images, small in size, far from those that are generally offered to us on the seaside. “This is how I see the landscapes, in a quirky way, I like to highlight what is in front of our eyes and that no one sees.

"In this new Time series, produced in Nice between 2011 and 2016, he once again takes a different look at his hometown and one of his most emblematic places Rauba-Capeu. Unlike the smoothed image of the postcard and of a Promenade des Anglais, flooded with sun and high in color, he prefers to face the spray and bad weather. He tracks down the faults of these very real moments which are also the beauty of this heritage to achieve which seemed to him to be the most accurate photo. No blue sky or sea, empty beach, tormented and threatening sky, few characters, only a few silhouettes bundled up, difficult to identify, photographed like a sequence shot. The material is reflected through a simple play of shadows and lines. The black hides the shapes but the residual light accentuates the contours and masses and confers a particular, almost disturbing atmosphere. Only a foreground is highlighted. pylon carrying a camera safety device, which, like the hand on a sundial, measures time. Authenticity beyond any preconceived idea, these touching pictures testify to a great sensitivity and help to express an emotion, a sensation or even a nascent nostalgia on the part of the author. They are delivered as a dive closer to the life of the people of Nice and give this city - which he deeply loves - a new and poetic dimension.

Marie-France Bouhours Artistic Director of the Museum of Photography in Nice