When times are tough, one tends to forget that photography can also be light, playful, and fun; that it is a shared delight, a parlor game, an ever-repeated magic show. It is pleasure rather than leisure, the latter always having the effect (thanks, Pascal!) of driving us away from what’s essential. A photo is no longer simply itself when it plays.
This frame of mind has been adopted by the Festival Images in Vevey, Switzerland, which is in full swing on the shores of Lake Geneva. This is the fifth edition of the festival since its director, Stefano Stoll, has built a strong brand identity: outdoor image shows and XXL formats, bridging a photography festival and a contemporary art biennial. This cultural project is also part of urban marketing, since Vevey has been developing its identity as the “City of images” for the past 20 years, in the aftermath of deindustrialization.
