Petit Bateau was born in Troyes, in the Aube region of France, nearly 120 years ago. Its factory, “Murard” as it is known at Petit Bateau, is its historical center.
The main building, “Saint Joseph” still gives a glimpse of what it was like in 1893. This is where Pierre Valton invented underwear in 1918 by cutting the legs off of a pair of leggings. On the eve of its 120th anniversary, Petit Bateau highlights its employees’ pride.
Petit Bateau called upon Stéphane Remael, a documentary and journalistic photographer and former member of the “Oeil Public” photojournalists’ collective to embark its employees on an original project is shown at the SLICK Art Fair and exhibited in-house at the company’s different sites.
Working with the photographer, each person was free to propose their own vision of their profession by creating inventive staging and playing with tools, machines and materials.
This gave Stéphane Remael the opportunity to capture scenes that were often surprising and sometimes funny or poetic. By calling upon the creativity of the employees, the photographer revealed a part of them that can be found at the surprising intersection of childlike spontaneity and the working world. With this project, Petit Bateau, which has been the “made in childhood” brand for 120 years, would like to pay homage to the women and men in Troyes who work for its success every day.
Stéphane Remael is a documentalist who also concentrates on portraiture. He was a co-founder and member of the Oeil Public Agency between 1996 and 2008. His main focus lies with the human condition, placing mankind in his environment, often those on the margins of society. He has traveled the world to cover humanistic stories from Bolivia, Georgia, China, Nepal to Morocco amongst other places. His work has been published in numerous French and international newspapers and magazines as Newsweek, TIME and The Wall Street Journal. He is based in Paris.
Stéphane Remael – Made in Troyes
SLICK ART FAIR
17.10.12 – 21.10.12
Garage Turenne
66 rue de Turenne
75003 Paris – France
