Halogénure is a bi-annual photography journal, which chose to focus on its interest in film and alternative photographic practices. It was founded and is run by five film photography lovers, photographers themselves for the most part, who have chosen to take their chances on a high-quality paper publication. The 650 copies of the first issue, quickly sold-out, were able to see the light of day thanks to crowdfunding and a network of specialized, involved bookstores that really wanted to publicize them.
For this second issue, Halogénure’s editorial staff chose to evade the expectations and concentrate two of its sections on documentary themes. It was not about the journal making yet another publication on what is widely acknowledged as “document-photography”, but to be interested in how the photographic medium can question and renew its documentary mission in the first person, far from the cliché of the supposed objectivity so characteristic of the medium.
The three sections of this issue are thus dedicated to long-term stories, to urban and personal chronicles, and to a tribute to the Holga, a toy camera continuously threatened by extinction, through the works of nine photographers. William Dupuy is presenting a series of portraits of women taken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, more specifically in a conflict zone, North Kivu, and is accompanied by his travel journal (text and photographs). Sandrine Lopez is unveiling her series , where life and death intermix over encounters between the photographer and these strangers whom we get to know. Sebastien Bergeron works with an Afghan Box, a strange device that is both a camera and a darkroom at the same time. Marie Sordat goes with her instinct, with an urgent vision, like a wild ride towards a hypothetical arrival. The world is often filled with hazards, accidents, and unexpected encounters, and Marie Sordat’s photography mirrors that. Christopher de Béthune, takes us, with his series Outland, on a voyage to the confines of his spirit and the world.
They are inextricably linked through a photography practice that never makes a difference between “I” and “you”. The empathetic and neurotic dimension of their photos seems to be overflowing. It tells us a deeply personal story with universal resonance, a story made with love and discovery in the chaotic flux of the world.
As tribute to the Holga, four photographers are presenting their work: the contrasted darkness of Alain Etchepare’s urban photography, the chronicles of Nice and beyond by Pascal Pronnier, the raw and unedited travel photos of Enrico Doria, and the minimalist haikus of Franck Juery.
Conceived as an independent model without publicity, Halogénure is dependent on the preorders and subscriptions of its readers. The success of the first issue allowed for a more serene pursuit of this adventure, even if the reliance on preorders is still necessary to continue, to increase printing, to better distribution, and to satisfy the bookstores’ numerous demands.
Cilou de Bruyn
Cilou de Bruyn is an author and photography consultant. She lives and works in Brussels, Belgium.
Halogénure numéro 2
164 pages, 25 €
Preorders are open from March 15th and will end, with even more success, this April 10th.
