In the context of the Louis Roederer Foundation Student Competition and photographic residence dedicated to European students, a second prize, the audience prize, is awarded.
This new award by the Louis Roederer Foundation in the amount of €3,000 is attributed to Carl Bigmore, student of the London College of Communication. At the end of the Festival,his photographic prints will join the public and photographic collection of the city of Deauville.
Interview of Carl Bigmore.
L’Oeil de la Photographie : Did you already now Deauville before coming for the residence?
Carl Bigmore : No, this was the first time I had visited. I read a little about the town before arriving to get a sense of what it was like and how I might approach making a project there. A lot of people spoke about the casinos and boutique stores, and of course the beach. I was interested in finding something beyond these initial impressions.
ODLP : How did you built your project? What was your initial idea and what is the result? did you stay on your first feeling?
CB : In my work I am interested in exploring ideas of reality and fiction, particularly with regards to a place. So I began looking at Deauville’s connection to literature and came across the poetry of Guillaume Apollinaire. I became interested in his poem “La Petit Auto” that described him leaving Deauville to go and fight in the First World War. This gave me the idea of creating a body of work that was an imagined Deauville as seen through the eyes of someone leaving who may never return. This then evolved as I incorporated my own experiences of Deauville when making the work. The project I ended up producing explores the central themes of Apollinaire’s poem which are a looming threat coupled with a loss of innocence. I see it as a poetic exploration of Deauville that drifts between the real and imagined. In many ways this is a reflection on Apollinaire’s own approach, as he was a forefather of surrealism.
ODLP : What have been your relationship with Deauville people? How did they welcome you?
CB : Unfortunately my French isn’t so good so I didn’t get to communicate with people as much as I would have liked. But I did get to spend one evening drinking wine and eating seafood in a beach hut with some locals.
ODLP : Was it your first participation in a festival? for a prize? What do you think you will keep from this experience?
CB : Yes, this is the first time I have undertaken a residency like this for a potential prize. I think the biggest thing I will take from the experience is the way in which it challenged me to think beyond my usual ways of taking pictures.
ODLP : Could you tell us about something that happened during your residence, an anecdote?
CB : My friend fell in the water with her camera whilst trying to take a photo.
The 10 students 2015 :
– Anna Broujean (ENSP)
– Carl Bigmore (London College of Communication)
– Marguerite Bornhauser (ENSP)
– Ryan Nell (London College of Communication)
– KOS (London College of Communication)
– Miriam Stanke (London College of Communication)
– Coline Amos (Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne)
– Jacques-Aurélien Brun (Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne)
– Younes Klouche (Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne)
– Jean-Vincent Simonet (Ecole Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne)
FESTIVAL
Planche(s) Contact
From October 17th to November 29th, 2015
Ville de Deauville
France
http://www.deauville-photo.fr
