This season, the Galerie VU’ is presenting two exhibitions about rites of initiation, one from the young Breton photographer Nolwenn Brod and the other from Swedish artist Martin Bogren. Fromgouren (traditional Breton wrestling) to a band of teenagers staving off boredom by racing old cars, the photographs of Nolwenn and Bogren both capture the expression of an overflow of brute force, teenage fury and “rebels without a cause” finding an outlet.
For Nolwenn Broad, the young wrestlers test themselves through a physical fight, a slow choreography, their bodies heavy with flesh, power and fatigue in an immemorial ritual of embracing of the self, the other and the world. Reminiscent of a pagan ritual, she captures the clashing of bodies against the twilit, timeless landscapes of Brittany.
For Martin Bogren, it’s the candor and rebelliousness of teenagers, playing at what they think it means to be an adult, getting high off speeding around parking lots in the Swedish countryside in cobbled-together cars. It’s this complex transition to manhood, a mixture of childhood and virile pride, these friendships and tests where everyone must measure themselves, where everyone comes to do battle with the help of speed, girls and the love of the dare.
EXHIBITION
Martin Bogren : Tractor Boys
& Nolwenn Brod : Ar Gouren et autres visions
September 12 – October 25 2014
Galerie VU’
Hôtel Paul Delaroche
58 rue Saint-Lazare
75009 Paris
France
http://www.galerievu.com
http://www.martinbogren.net
http://www.nolwennbrod.com
