On the occasion of the publication of La grâce et le feu, the new retrospective book by Gérard Uféras, Polka delves into the fashion photographer’s archives to highlight previously unpublished images, forgotten on contact sheets. The “Seen / Unseen” exhibition explores the relationship between what is hidden and what is exhibited. The preparations, the indiscretions, the hustle and bustle of the corridors… The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters reveals what we should not see behind the curtains. A work of shadow between the brilliance of the sets and the subdued light behind the scenes.
In forty years of career, Gérard Uféras has worked for prestigious names in haute couture such as Dior or Chanel, each time it is the delicacy of bodies in all their aspects that fascinates him. While the Fashion Week models parade through Paris, the tireless observer takes us behind the scenes of the industry around the years 2000-2010. His practice goes against fashion standards: far from illuminating us with studio photos, he reveals the poetry of what hides from view. Blurs, bodies half out of the frame, random images… each moment captured brings us a little closer to the truth behind the scenes, even when a hand in front of the lens tries to deprive us of it.
The exhibition combines two visual writings. On one side, the final result, the photographer’s iconic photographs in black and white, on the other, the reproductions of contact sheets still annotated with color lines. This selection is a game of mirrors between graphics and photography, between the backstage of fashion and that of the photographer’s workshop, where his secrets of making appear in the simplest device.
Gérard Uféras: Seen / Unseen
from January 24 to March 15, 2025
Polka Factory
14 rue Saint Gilles 75003 Paris
Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Free Entrance
https://www.polka.paris/factory/
