This portfolio is a favorite of mine and there will be another one. The morning I received Denis Lebioda’s images, whose work was new to me, they became an instant favorite: A whiff of nostalgia, a profound sympathy for people who, against all odds, fight for dignity, their beliefs, and their roots, and an approach to photography quite rare nowadays. – Jean-Jacques Naudet
To tell a story…
I am trying to tell a story using photographic sequences—the story of farmers men and women who have chosen to adopt a certain approach to their profession. Which consists in small-scale farming that rejects, at least partially, the technical and economic demands of the modern era and of progress which, for the most part, has exhausted itself: excessive mechanization and automation, chemical additives, genetically modified foods and seeds, herds of hundreds of cattle… Their approach emphasizes local action, social and environmental responsibility, respect for animals, organic methods, and direct contact with the consumer, for example by marketing their produce in short distribution chains — local farmer’s markets, Network of Associations for the Preservation of Smallholdings (AMAP), farm gate sales… — as well as maintaining a relative autonomy vis-à-vis banks and state funding.
It is very important for me to address these topics in a positive way, countering the negative image of agriculture generally produced by the media reporting on protests, health scandals, economic problems, suicides… For this purpose, I shy away from dramatic images reminiscent of media coverage. There is no room in my work for blood and tears, pretentious and bombastic style, or cheerful idealization of rural life and environment disseminated by commercials, ads, and picture-perfect scenes.
What I’m interested in is current innovation, what makes things works, and the pleasure and passion driving those who have chosen this lifestyle, without, however, denying its difficulties.
My work is about trying to portray, as accurately as possible, this multi-faceted way of life and those who have adopted it, the complex web of intense relationships binding men and animals, man and nature, and nature and animals in this Alpine region.
INFORMATION
http://denis-lebioda.com
https://www.facebook.com/denis.lebioda
