Sophie Hatier photographs the residents of the “Equestrian Academy of Versaillles” run by Bartabas, Her gaze makes them look vulnerable, each horse expressing a personality, unmistakably, even though optically so similar.
Sophie Hatier showcases a series of portraits featuring residents of the “Equestrian Academy of Versaillles” run by Bartabas.
Lacking colour and contrast, the images are instead like monochromes invoking multi-layered interpretations. Observers instinctively recognise the elegance, temperament, passion, kindness, sovereignty, individuality and character of the horse. A sense of grace and mystery also prevails. The images convey a certain autonomy, the unbroken will of the animal, its freedom enshrined even in this narrow visual field and against the geometric background of a Versailles stone wall, all but camouflaging the horse with its matching colour.
The nostrils – seen with the mind’s eye – are soft. The mane long and silky. The coat bright and radiant. The eyes wide open and clear, various blues with specks of grey? The smooth hair paints a landscape caressed by the wind, evoking a vast and undulating valley to the eye of the observer.
The radiant silky coat is white, much like the Camarillo white (referring to a specific breed). It also appears in pure white, ivory and grey white. Alongside cremello, perlino, beige or palomino, sometimes with a golden glow that is brilliant, luminous, ethereal. The monochrome penetrates deep and evokes a heavenly blonde by the name of “Marilyn”.
Sophie Hatier is a member of the group “France (s) Territoire Liquide”. She is represented by the Galerie Djeziri- Bonn in Paris. After starting as a scenography photographer (for TNS, The National Theater in Strasbourg), she became a journalist (travels and reportages in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Mongolia, Armenia, Argentina, Cambodia and others).
The exhibition is part of the new photographic season 2017 – 2018 by Clervaux – cité de l’image.
The relationship to reality is marked not just by opposites but by subtle nuances. The unambiguous opposition of black and white gives rise to a vague inkling: there is more, something more complex, different shades. Contemporary photography makes no exception, both in its artistic mission and in its documentary approach.
The first rupture occurs on the surface, before travelling down to deeper levels and layers. In the window of the photographer’s eye, everything is alive, the foreground as well as the background. Like waves rolling into one another, nuances merge together in favour of the uncertain, in favour of plurality. Blurring the borders. Everything shining in the light. Everything shimmering in the shade.
The new season of photographic images is based on multiple truths, straddling day and night, capturing the entire range of black and white colours.
Read more at www.clervauximage.lu
Information
Clervaux - cité de l'image / Arcades I
Grand-rue, Clervaux, Luxembourg
September 29, 2017 to September 28, 2018
