For this fifth edition, the Olympus Photography Conversation is changing by having only one pair instead of three “to create more in-depth work ,” explains Didier Quilain, former Olympus France-Belgium president and, today, advisor for the brand.Who is also calling for candidates, addressing the ENSP graduates of the past two years. So was born the conversation between Eleonore Lubna, 2016 ENSP graduate, and Guillaume Herbaut, who works in documentary photography for the press. Their practices crossed on a subject of predilection for the photojournalist:Ukraine, where he has been going regularly for the last fifteen years. In response to his images relating to the front, Elenore offered to bear witness to the life of the inhabitants who fled the combat zones. Below, an interview with Guillaume Herbaut on this new experience.
On what criteria was Eleonore Lubna chosen?
It turns out that her project fittingly integrated with my initiative. She expressed a fairly deep understanding of my journey. And what pleased us in her project was the fact that she had a societal point of view and a political discourse. She does not make photos just to make photos, even though her work has a clear visual arts dimension. She’s concerned by the world around her. It’s something that directly echoes my own work because I have always conceive photography as a commitment.
What was her proposition?
She proposed to leave for Ukraine, where I’ve been working for more than fifteen years, and more so in the past three years, and to work on internally displaced people. There is a real resonance with my work since I was regularly at the front lines. These two angles are very complimentary. She was interested in the consequences of war and in going to photograph and interview a dozen people who, today, find themselves in Kiev because of the conflict and who have lost their roots.
What is the dialogue between your works like at the space in the Palais de Luppe?
For the scenography, with Fannie Escoulen, there were three of us working on it. My photographs are presented in a line, like I’ve done for the exhibition 7/7 at the Carré de Baudouin in Paris. This line traces a path that leads to Eleonore Lubna’s images. If on my side there’s a certain tension, her presentation is more aerial, like a breath…
What do you think of this experience?
I think that it’s important to create links between different generations of photographers and this project gave us an opportunity. The older photographers’ experiences have to benefit the younger generations… The generations have to help each other out. And it works both ways because it’s also a source of enrichment for me.
Interview by Sophie Bernard
Olympus Photography Conversation
Guillaume Herbaut and Eleonore Lubna
Kiev – Donbass: A Round Trip
Festival des Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles 2017
From July 3 through September 24, 2017
Arles, France
