The International Center of Photography (ICP) presents Latitudes: Nuits Balnéaires and François-Xavier Gbré, an exhibition showcasing new projects created by the artists as part of the Latitudes program developed by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, in partnership with the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson and ICP. Curated by David Campany, Creative Director at ICP, the exhibition brings together Gbré’s project Radio Ballast with Nuits Balnéaires’ project Eboro, each using different methods of image-making and historical inquiry to reflect on the multifaceted nature of contemporary Côte d’Ivoire. By highlighting the innovative photographic process of each artist, Latitudes: Nuits Balnéaires and François-Xavier Gbré exemplifies ICP’s commitment to supporting international and cross-cultural collaboration.
Nuits Balnéaires’ project Eboro exists in an imaginary space, one that weaves together past with present while slipping across borders to neighboring territories. The conceptual and thematic beginning of the project is the artist’s uncle, Noel X Ebony, a journalist, poet and playwright who died in unresolved circumstances in Senegal. Ebony’s concern with the culture and politics of African independence permeates the installation, pulling viewers into the past while asking them to imagine what shape the future could take—or whether it might be here already, its fragments waiting to be pieced together.
Set against the geographical backdrop of the Gulf of Guinea, Nuits Balnéaires stages images that explore the relationship between the experience of his ancestors in exile and his own perspective on travel and migration. A series of short, color-coded photographic chapters—some intimate, others sumptuously cinematic—are accompanied by a two-channel video projection, the elements combining to evoke an Ivorian imagination in flux. Eboro, a word meaning boundary or border, contains a mix of references, from movies, literature and poetry, to contemporary style and fashion, suggesting a life shaped as much by the communities of online culture as by the older forms of national identity.
For nearly fifteen years, François-Xavier Gbré has photographed the imprints of human activity on the landscape and architecture of the African continent, seeking to uncover the lingering traces—hidden and visible alike—of how history has unfolded across the land. In 2023, he set out to follow the railway that runs from north to south through Côte d’Ivoire, a line that was built during the French colonial era to extract the country’s natural resources and transport them to the port of Abidjan, then on to the metropole. Gbré’s photographs, firmly rooted in the landscape and political history of Côte d’Ivoire, carry multiple, overlapping temporal layers, from the colonial period to the post-Independence years through to recent events and the contemporary moment. In following the railway through the landscape, his photographs reveal the many ways it continues to echo throughout the built environment.
The title of Gbré’s project, Radio Ballast, refers first to the transmission of information across vast distances, while ‘ballast’ is also the bed of crushed rock on which the rails lie. In railway jargon, the term can also refer to rumor, vague and unfounded news, mixed and often contradictory narratives, all reflecting the way that history and its telling are so often uncertain and shifting.
Inaugurated in 2024, Latitudes broadens the scope of Immersion, the former French-American photography commission launched in 2014 as a residency between France and the United States. The new program takes its name from a geographical concept, affirming its ambition to shed light on artists from scenes that are still underrepresented on the international stage. Côte d’Ivoire is the first country to be honored in the two-year cycle inaugurated in 2024. Each project will be accompanied by a photobook in English and French editions, co-published by Atelier EXB and the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès. Radio Ballast was first shown at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson and, following the exhibition at ICP, Eboro will travel there as well.
“Côte d’Ivoire has an incredibly dynamic cross-generational photographic scene,” said Campany. “Nuits Balnéaires and François-Xavier Gbré exemplify its range, from conceptual documentary work to hybrid blends of fact, remembrance and fiction. ICP is committed to supporting and presenting innovative work from across the globe and the Latitudes program allows us to do this.”
About Nuits Balnéaires
Multidisciplinary artist and poet Nuits Balnéaires was born and raised in Abidjan, into a family with Akan Agni-Bona and Malinké origins. With intimate connections to both peoples’ traditions, culture and spirituality, his work creates a parallel space-time beyond the constraints of geography, while embracing the universality of oceans as the connective tissue between worlds.
Nuits Balnéaires cultivates powerful ties with the energy of the Gulf of Guinea and its landscapes, hence the omnipresence of water in his photographic practice, films and poetry. Haunted by the duality of life and death and the possibility of communication between these states, his works convey a euphoric sense of tranquillity that feels both classical and contemporary.
In 2019, Nuits Balnéaires settled in Grand-Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire, to develop his artistic practice, drawing on his years as a fashion and conceptual photographer. He secured a one-year bursary in visual journalism with the World Press Photo Foundation and was among the winners of a 2020 call for projects from the Goethe-Institut and the Prince Claus Fund, which supports cultural and artistic responses to environmental change. Nuits Balnéaires’ work has been exhibited at Art X Lagos, Paris’ 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, FNB Art Johannesburg and in numerous exhibitions across Côte d’Ivoire, Canada, the United States, the UK, France, the Netherlands and Australia.
About François-Xavier Gbré
François-Xavier Gbré (b.1978, Lille) lives and works between Abidjan and La Rochelle. His work explores the impact of climate and geography on the language of architecture, as a testament to collective memory and social change. From the vestiges of colonialism to landscapes redefined by current events, Gbré explores territories and revisits history. In continuous dialogue with his surroundings, he employs a variety of scales and display formats—from small, meticulous installations conceived as in-depth investigations of specific territories, to the use of architectural settings as sounding-boards for his photographic works and an exploration of their physical connection to the viewer or the public space.
Represented by the Cécile Fakhoury Gallery, his works have entered the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Tate Modern, London, UK, the Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm, Germany / New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris, France.
About Latitudes
Established in 2024 by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation and the International Center of Photography (ICP), the Latitudes program supports international photographic creation by assisting in the making and dissemination of new work. Each year, a laureate selected by the three partner institutions is awarded a grant to produce an original photographic series. This body of work is then exhibited in Paris at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, in New York at ICP and in the laureate’s home country. To further extend its reach, a dedicated publication is co-published with the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès. By supporting artists from regions underrepresented on the international stage, Latitudes invites us to broaden our perspectives and explore new photographic horizons. In 2024, François-Xavier Gbré became the laureate of the inaugural edition of the program, dedicated to Côte d’Ivoire. In 2025 Nuits Balnéaires was announced as the second laureate.
Exhibition Support
Since 2024, Latitudes, a program by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, has supported international art photography by assisting in the creation and presentation of new photographic series.
Exhibitions at ICP are supported, in part, by Caryl Englander, Almudena Legorreta, ICP Board of Trustees, and the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
About Fondation d’entreprise Hermès
Since 2008, the actions of the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès have been guided by a single, unifying conviction: “Our gestures define us and show who we are.” In other words, by acting for the well-being of all, we grow and become better human beings. The Fondation’s four core missions enact its commitment to targeted philanthropy and support through in-house programmes designed to transmit skills and expertise, create new works of art, protect the environment and encourage gestures of solidarity. The Fondation supports its beneficiaries as they contribute to building tomorrow’s world.
About Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
Established by Henri Cartier-Bresson, his wife Martine Franck and their daughter Mélanie, the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson opened its doors in Paris in May 2003. Recognized as a leading public interest organization, the Fondation is committed to sharing the work of its two founding artists through the organizing of exhibitions in France and around the world, in collaboration with the most prestigious institutions. For twenty years, the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson has established itself as a leading photographic institution, thanks to its unique exhibition programme featuring its own collection and the work of other artists.
The Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson actively supports contemporary photographic practices through its grantmaking and awards including the Henri Cartier-Bresson Creation Award given every two years, as well as the Henri Cartier-Bresson Lifetime Achievement Award celebrating its recipient’s entire career.
Zach Ritter
Latitudes : Nuits Balnéaires and François-Xavier Gbré
On View January 29-May 4, 2026
The International Center of Photography (ICP)
84 Ludlow Street
New York, NY 10002
www.icp.org
