Little Big Galerie presents an exhibition by Thibaut Derien entitled J’habite une ville fantôme. Gérald Andrieu writes:
“Lowered grilles, drawn curtains, closed shutters. And shop windows whitened with White from Meudon… For twenty years, photographer Thibaut Derien has been obsessively documenting the storefronts of shuttered shops. These photographs remind us that there was a time when even modest towns were able to support haberdasheries, bazaars, hotels, and a multitude of bars and cafés. A time when globalization, big-box retail, and e-commerce had not yet dealt heavy blows to our artisans and shopkeepers. A time when uniformity had not yet driven out beauty, embodied in the naive mosaic of a storefront or in a sign painted by a local sign painter. A time, finally, when there were still places where people could cross paths, meet, forge bonds and build solidarity. Thibaut Derien has named his series « J’habite une ville fantôme ». And it is the nature of ghosts to return. By focusing for a moment on his images, one could almost believe that the grilles will rise, the bell above the front door will ring again, and life will resume its course.”
Gérald Andrieu
A songwriter and performer for about ten years, Thibaut Derien has now traded words for images, and music for silence.
An author-photographer since 2013, his first series « J’habite une ville fantôme » was exhibited at festivals (SFR Jeunes Talents Paris Photo Prize, Audience Award at the Boutographies, Professionals’ Prize at Rendez-vous Images, etc.) and in galleries (Little Big Galerie in Paris and Arles, Pulvertum in Frankfurt, Systema Gallery in Osaka, etc.). It was published by Éditions du petit oiseau in 2016.
His second series, « Angèle et le nouveau monde », was also the subject of a book published by the same publisher in 2018, and was exhibited notably at Little Big Galerie in Paris and Arles, at Galerie Maupetit in Marseille, at the Rencontres de la Photo de Chabeuil, the Rencontres photographiques d’Arlon and Confrontations Photo de Gex. « Où mes pas me mènent » was published in December 2020 as an artist’s book, and has since been exhibited in galleries (Tryptique Galerie in Les Sables-d’Olonne) and at contemporary art fairs.
Thibaut Derien is currently working on a new photographic series, « Dire au revoir à la ville ». On June 3, he will publish and present at Little Big Galerie the second volume of his series « J’habite une ville fantôme ».
Part of this series will also be shown as part of the group exhibition presented each summer by Little Big Galerie-Arles during Les Rencontres. Thibaut Derien will be there from July 6 to 9, 2026 inclusive, and will be able to sign his book.
Thibaut Derien : J’habite une ville fantôme
June 2–30, 2026
Opening Thursday, June 4, 2026, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the presence of Thibaut Derien
Little Big Galerie
45 rue Lepic
75018 Paris
+33 (0)1 42 52 81 25
www.littlebiggalerie.com
The book:
Thibaut Derien : J’habite une ville fantôme
Landscape format 22.5 x 30 cm (22.5 x 60 cm open)
Hardcover, brick/rust-red cloth binding, hot-stamped title
Endpapers: F-Color black 120g paper; interior pages: Magno Volume matte paper 150g
224 pages, including 200 color photographs
Text by Sandrine Tolotti
€45
