Paris Photo 2015 in figures

A picture means I know where I was every minute. That’s why I take pictures. It’s a visual diary. - Andy Warhol

On the occasion of its 19th edition, Paris Photo inaugurates a new sector, PRISMES, with a selection of projects dedicated to serial works and projects outside the norm.

Since its origins, photography has generated a multiplication of images, integrating in certain cases the serial process at the heart of the work. The Double Elephant portfolio includes a collection of 60 historical works by Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Garry Winogrand, Lee Friedlander and Walker Evans tracing the evolution of visual culture since the 30s.

Daido Moriyama, Japanese photographer of the 70s avant-garde, reflects on seriality in his work; an approach essentially perceptible in his numerous publications. And for the first time this year, Paris Photo unveils the entire set including 80 prints of Farewell Photography. The series Flower Love by Nobuyoshi Araki is also a magnificent expression of seriality. Considering life and photography as a whole, Araki presents an ensemble of 2000 Polaroids.

Daido Moriyama. Farewell Photography, 1972. Gelatin silver print. 20x24 © Daido Moriyama. Courtesy of the artist, Photo Foundation, courtesy Jean-Kenta Gauthier, Paris & Akio Nagasawa Gallery, Tokyo

In Sleeping Portraits, a complete set from a larger series, Paul Graham leads us through an exploration of the ephemerality and the triviality of everyday life. The site-specific presentation incites reflection as the images enter into dialogue with one another. Rosalind Solomon Fox reveals the painful aspects of the human condition through her selection of photographs from Portraits in the Time of AIDS, 1988. Witness of the relentless struggle for survival, her poignant, disturbing and troubling images challenge the viewer.

In another vein, Stephan Schenk, an archaeologist with his eyes fixed to the earth, maps old battlefield grounds with a succession of large format photographs adapted into tapestries. Bae Bien-U’s desert landscapes take us beyond time between communion and harmony in the midst of pine forests, symbol of the soul of the Korean people. The uncontrollable nature devoid of human presence and disproportionate in size stretches to infinity in the expression of Boomoon.

Finally, Suzanne Lafont’s installation Situation Comedy and Index puts into perspective photographic work at the crossroads of disciplines. Between theater, literature and performance, she presents a work made from an image bank begun in 1987. Photos and texts projected in chance associations offer each visitor a unique visual experience. 

The full list of participating galleries is here.