The sixth Eurazéo Prize went to Muriel Bordier for her series Les Thermes. Her images are on view at the Espace Central Dupon Images until March 11th. In addition to the exhibition, the winner has been awarded a cash prize of 10,000€.
As a photographer and video artist, I tend to approach my subjects with a certain predilection for mockery and humor. By showing different realities, I unmask all the incongruity of our “habitual” perception; I reconstruct reality.
My choices are systematically oriented toward wide shot and large-format which gives room to details. With the different scenes juxtaposed within a scene, the detail becomes particularly important. By abandoning the close-up, I do not impose anything on the viewer: the elaborate composition allows the eye to wander and create its own hierarchy of elements, stimulating the gaze. By inviting them to engage in the discovery of details slipped into my photographs, I seek to forge a bond with the viewers.
I invent nothing; I simply emphasize. Everything is already there: one need only look from a certain angle. I produce my realities by using shots, scale models, and digital compositions.
From the very start, I have tackled such subjects as housing, tourism, history of France, museums of contemporary art, and corporations. In my photographs, I try to show the world in a playful and satirical light. I select elements belonging to our collective memory, to the cultural codes of our society, objects, monuments, landscapes, important figures, and juxtapose them, stage them, and photograph them by playing with the disconnection produced by the image between the representation and the mind of the viewer. In order to evoke the everyday, but also to parody the cultural codes of Western society, humor and burlesque are my weapons of choice.
The series Les Thermes explores the world of swimming pools by bringing together sport activities (swimming or diving lessons) and different locations (the pool, the diving board, showers), both in daytime and at night.
After the interpretations of the worlds of contemporary art museums and big corporations, the series Les Thermes is a continuation of a larger project aiming at creating a whole city.
Muriel Border
EXHIBITION
Les Thermes
Muriel Bordier
From January 28th to March 11th, 2016
Espace Central Dupon Images
74 Rue Joseph de Maistre
75018 Paris
France
http://www.centraldupon.com
