Armed with a large format camera, Marion Poussier went out to meet Deauville teenagers in order to pursue her project on youth. She is interested in the enigmatic question of love at the age of fifteen.
L’Oeil de la Photographie : Is there anything special about Deauville youth, or do you find the same sort of questions and anguish that are typical of that age group?
Marion Poussier : No, young people in Deauville are no different from those elsewhere (or, rather, they are different in the sense that we are all unique). The term “youth” or “adolescence” doesn’t mean much besides defining a certain age group. Young people I have photographed are not all from Deauville; some are from the neighboring towns and villages. What they have in common is that they all go to school in Deauville, but few among them spend much time in town outside school. They have nagging questions typical of their age, just like those we asked ourselves when we were their age.
ODLP : It must be difficult for teenagers to expose themselves to the gaze of a documentary photographer. How do you connect and dialog with them?
MP : It’s quite simple. We just talk. Then, I think there is a sort of fascination with the image that compels them to let me in. Behind the idea of being photographed by a photographer there is the idea of having a quality photo of oneself. For me, it’s a question of trying to get around that expectation and to play with it.
ODLP : Is the documentary project you debuted in the 2000s, and which branded you as a photographer of French adolescence, still relevant given the emergence of the selfie and social networking? Have these young people, accustomed to daily exposure on social networks, modified your documentary approach? If so, how have you adapted? Do you feel that your way of looking at adolescence has changed?
MP : I don’t think of myself at all as a photographer of French adolescence. There are many photographers who are interested in this age group and who have their own approaches, each of them unique and remarkable. When I started photographing teenagers, I was struck by how carefully they pose their photos, control their own image, and try to play a role. This is the main question that interested me. Social networking and selfies offer teenagers the possibility of gaining even more control over their own image. They know what pose to strike in order to present themselves exactly how they want, to construct their character. What I find interesting is precisely playing with and picking apart this idea of self-control. Social networking and the facility of taking hundreds of photos of oneself thanks to mobile phones are an interesting research topic in my work. I’ve spent a lot of time browsing teenage Facebook profiles. Their photos—or sometimes the lack of photos—have taught me a lot about them.
FESTIVAL
Planche(s) Contact
Marion Poussier
LOVE
From October 17th to November 29th, 2015
Ville de Deauville
France
http://www.deauville-photo.fr
