Bruno Boudjelal
Born 1961, in Montreuil, France. Lives and works in France.
A Frenchman of Algerian origins and member of the VU’ agency, Boudjelal approaches photography as a way of life that constantly questions his own identity and confronts us with our own. In Algeria, he has spent 20 years exploring the country, somewhere between a travelogue and a testimony, embracing the fact that his point of view is subjective and shaped by his personal history. Straddling two continents and two cultures, Boudjelal is plainly generous and claims an empathetic approach to the relations between the North and the South. Bruno Boudjelal collaborates with Michael Stevenson Gallery, Johannesburg/Capetown/Amsterdam.
Before starting this project, I knew very little about the African continent. I first encountered it in 2001 in Bamako, and again in Gabon in 2003 with my wife, who took me to the places of her childhood. During those two trips, I felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if I already knew those places and people. My impressions were far removed from the common perceptions of Africa: it was neither an exotic, picturesque place nor a continent plagued by war, poverty, and disease. To me, these places exuded a vibrant energy, linked to both life and chaos.
All of this made me want to travel further along the roads and roam the continent in search of those who live there. Traveling by road takes a long time, which allows one to experience the situations encountered and interactions with fellow travelers more intensely.
Today, these routes, which people would like freely to follow across the continent, are shifting and difficult! Roads that were never built, those in very poor condition, and closed borders are the principal hindrances to ease of movement. One might think that only people driven by poverty venture onto these roads, leaving in search of a better life in Europe. However, the reality is much more complex. On a bus trip from Dakar to Bamako (the train had been out of service for five weeks), I remember meeting a Ghanaian man working in Dakar who was returning to Ghana to visit his family, a Gambian leaving to look for work in the Angolan mines, and a Rwandan who thought he would find work in Senegal but ultimately gave up and returned to
the Congo. I was drawn to these roads, not driven by any kind of documentary approach but rather by the feeling that my personal history extended there, on the other side of the Mediterranean —like an inner and fundamental necessity. For me, the artistic experience is spiritual. This spirituality is palpable, tangible in Africa. It reveals itself to the eye and the soul in all its essence. The encounter between the external and our internal worlds gives rise to images that I call impressions and improvisations.
Bruno Boudjelal
1.Goudron: a generic term used in French‑speaking Africa to refer to any tarmac road.
Venue
Commanderie Sainte-Luce
Exhibition produced by the Rencontres d’Arles.
Exhibition presented as part of the Saison Méditerranée 2026.
This exhibition is being extended to Avignon TGV station. With support from SNCF Gares & Connexions.
Prints
Atelier Surexposés, Paris
Mounting
Mimesis, Paris
Framing
Circad, Paris
Publication
Goudron. Tanger–Le Cap, Atelier EXB, 2026.
Practical Information
Festival dates: July 6 July – October 4, 2026
Opening Week: 6–12 July, 2026
All-exhibitions pass: €42 (reduced: €33)
www.rencontres-arles.com/en
