The Eye of Photography is opening a new chapter in its ‘Cartes Blanches’ series with the support of MPB. Each month, a French photographer will present an original series produced with equipment loaned by the international platform for buying, selling and trading photo and video equipment.
Simon Depardon travelled to Deleitosa Spain to follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith. Echoing the American’s images, his series captures the daily life in the village of Deleitosa, oscillating between slow dignity and the idleness of the ordinary.
“In 1951, W. Eugene Smith immortalised for LIFE magazine the daily lives of the inhabitants of Deleitosa, a remote village in Extremadura, in south-west Spain. This series, emblematic of rural life under Francoism, remains engraved in the village’s collective memory. Censored by the regime, the magazine did not reach the villagers until several decades later. Many misunderstandings and misinterpretations have marked his work, making W. Eugene Smith a controversial figure. Today, the controversy continues: is the portrait he painted of the village to the advantage of its inhabitants, or a crude caricature of the misery that prevailed at the time? One thing is certain: his trip had a profound effect on some of the villagers, having a lasting influence on the way they view photographers, and sometimes making our work more difficult than it would have been elsewhere.
For The Eye of Photography, I have produced a contemporary series, in colour and sometimes using flash (Leica SF 40 connected via PC sync cable), to explore how the local population continues to resist a decline marked by the exodus of young people and repeated droughts. Through these portraits, I tried to capture the duality of this village: a place where dignity and idleness coexist, where the gaze reflects both the harshness of daily life and a quiet resignation to the passage of time.
My work consisted of meeting the inhabitants in their daily lives, often in the street, while establishing links with local institutions such as the town hall, the fire brigade and the Guardia Civil. The use of flash in some of the portraits enabled me to reveal the raw reality of the place, accentuating the contrasts and details of everyday life.
This series speaks of rural Spain, of a certain neglect on the part of the public authorities, but also of an unchanging life imbued with great dignity. It’s work that I hope to continue, to bear witness to the strength and resilience of these people who, despite the difficulties, welcomed me with great generosity and precious trust’.
Simon Depardon
Born in 1991 in Paris, Simon Depardon is a film director and photographer. His photographic work captures the ordinariness of people and their cities through stories drawn from his reportages and field surveys. Rooted in a documentary approach, his work seeks to capture the depths of his subjects, finding beauty, depth, and timelessness.
He is the author of several documentary feature films, including Feminist Ripost, which he co-directed with Marie Perrenès (official selection, Cannes Festival 2022). He also recently exhibited portraits of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic athletes as part of the ‘Art in the City’ programme with the Paris City Hall.
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