Arles 2017

With approximately 40 exhibitions, the 48th issue of the “Rencontres de la Photographie” offers a general survey of contemporary photography all across the city of Arles.

Michael Wolf, Architecture of Density, 2005-2009. Courtesy of the artist. © Rencontres Arles

With approximately 40 exhibitions, the “Rencontres d’Arles” offer a general survey of contemporary photographic creation and practices. The relationships suggested within the program are at the core of the different sequences. They allow categories to be identified and, year after year, encourage a thorough exploration of developments in photography.

Gidéon Mendel, Jeff and Tracey Waters, Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, UK, February 2014, from the Submerged portraits series. Courtesy of the artist. © Rencontres Arles

The more we think a country closed, stuck in political and economic crises, the more we find photographers there. They reveal, describe, demonstrate, invent, repair, build, in their own language, that of the image. They decipher the preliminary signs of societies in upheaval. The 48th issue of the Rencontres de la Photographie shares this taste for other places. All across the city of Arles – a city of living legacy which, in the space of a summer, transforms into a wonderful place of welcome for our exhibitions – a trajectory emerges that will lead you from Latin America to Iran, from the shores of the Bosphorus to the Syrian border, from Château Davignon to the trailers of Arles. You’ll go on a snorkeling tour of flooded lands; you’ll go by train across the vast Russian landscape; you’ll pick up the pieces of Lenin in Ukraine; you’ll reflect on Monsanto; you’ll follow the life of a Romani family for twenty years… From the local to the global, this 48th issue will take you to the heart of Colombia, immerse you in a new Spanish generation, introduce you to the sideways glance in Iranian photography – all in a sweeping journey to the heart of busy and complex geopolitics.

Erwin Wurm, One-Minute Sculptures, 1997-1998. Courtesy of Adagp, Paris. © Rencontres Arles

In 2017, the spirit of the “Rencontres” will breathe on two new sites. Both are found at the border of the historical center on Boulevard Émile Combes. The sites were built from derelict houses, old shops, warehouses, and urban land. Open to the public for the first time, they’ve been reconfigured as exhibition sites and walkways for the occasion. They add to the “Rencontres d’Arles” reputation as innovator of the city. But one space can hide another! More than square meters, these are new spaces of photography which, above all, tirelessly mobilize our energy: creative spaces, political spaces, spaces of protest and rebellion, spaces for reflection, and most of all, spaces consecrated to the critical eye and free thinking.

01 / 09

Michael Wolf, Architecture of Density, 2005-2009. Courtesy of the artist. © Rencontres Arles

Alain Ceccaroli, print from the Paysages de la route, des Alpes aux Pyrénées series, 1985, DATAR photography mission (1984-1989), collection of the Department of Prints and Photographs from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. © Rencontres Arles

Éric Julien, Untitled. Courtesy of the artist. © Rencontres Arles

Jean Dubuffet, Élément bleu XI, model for a small town house, photomontage, 1967. Courtesy of the Archives of the Dubuffet Foundation, Paris. © Rencontres Arles

Sina Shiri, Silent side, Neishabour, Iran, September 2015. Courtesy of the artist. © Rencontres Arles

Joel Meyerowitz, Movie Theater Booth, Times Square, New York City, 1963. Courtesy of the artist and Howard Greenberg Gallery. © Rencontres Arles

Joel Meyerowitz, Camel Coat Couple in Street Steam, New York City, 1975. Courtesy of the artist and Howard Greenberg Gallery. © Rencontres Arles

Marie Bovo, Стансы - Кавголовo (Stance - Kavgolovo), 2017. Courtesy of OSL Contemporary, Oslo, and kamel mennour, Paris/London. © Rencontres Arles

Niels Ackermann & Sebastien Gobert, Korzhin, 3 June 2016. The village wants to sell this statue for 15'000 USD in order to repair the local kindergarten and the school. The price is a bit high and the local mechanic who's in charge of selling the statue expects to get no more than 3'000 USD from selling the scrap metal. Courtesy of Niels Ackermann/Lundi13. © Niels Ackermann / Lundi13

until 24 September 2017
Arles 2017: Les Rencontres de la Photographie
various locations
Director: Sam Stourdzé

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