Young Talents In Photography
Young photographers showcase their series during the Rencontres d'Arles, France’s leading photography festival.
Each year, Champagne House Louis Roederer welcomes photography lovers to discover a new generation of talents through a curated exhibition set inside l’Eglise des Frères Prêcheurs in Arles. Since its creation 53 years ago, the Rencontres d'Arles has promoted photography and all its stakeholders, from photographers to artists, curators and publishers. Set up and supported by the eponymous cultural foundation, the Louis Roederer Discovery Prize at Arles’ Rencontres unveils a roster of brilliant minds, and eyes – with the support of trailblazing work, galleries, art centers, non-profits, independent venues and institutions, which are often the first to support emerging artists. This year again, 10 shortlisted projects are featured in a single show, curated by Taous Dahmani and staged by scenographer Amanda Antunes.
Laureate of the 2022 prize, Rahim Fortune shared an autobiographic series – I can’t stand to see you cry (2020) - that questions what makes or can be perceived as the American identity today. Born in 1994 in Austin, Texas, Rahim Fortune lives and works in New York where he departs from one day to go back to mourn his father: soon, the weight of losing someone as dear is mixed with outside factors like the global pandemic and the murder of George Floyd.
In this photographic series, history’s implacable narrative is joined by family beliefs, doubts, streams of violence and long-standing wounds. At the same time, the country has never seemed as fractured. His camera documents a contemporary era where he places vulnerability, intimacy and courage center stage to create a natural dialogue with those who surround him.
For this year’s edition of the Roederer Discovery Prize, the Maison didn’t select a theme nor a genre, but focused rather on an attitude. “What leads to great photographic works? That is the question that interested us the most,” Frédéric Rouzaud, at the helm of Champagne Roederer, comments.
“What is the sheer motivation behind an artistic project and what leads to it coming to life?” he adds. All artists were selected for their power to face what is the most intimate, intimidating and private – often also taboo. From trauma to death, from challenging past experiences all the way to the need to self-transform and redefine themselves as artists, these young creatives’ roads lead to compelling photographs that hold the power of experience dear. And by doing so, the intimate spheres and stories are depicted and shared with many: the works on show resonate beyond the particular to forge ties with the human conditions we all share.
“Each year, nature presents us with a challenge, a chance to write a different story, invent new stories and adjust the way we look at the world. We approach contemporary artists with the same boldness: we recognize in them the capacity to see and express change, imagine new scenarios, help us innovate”, Rouzaud adds.
During the opening week, a jury awarded the Louis Roederer Discovery Award to Rahim Fortune, which comes with a prize worth €15,000 for the artist and the project's supporting gallery Sasha Wolf Projects (New York).
On show till September 25th 2022.
www.louis-roederer.com/fr/news/the-foundation
https://www.rencontres-arles.com/en/expositions/view/1054/rahim-fortune
