Jean-François Spricigo, the 2008 winner of the Prix de Photographie by the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, says that he learned photography during night walks with his dog. If so then, anima, the exhibit of his work at the Institut de France, is as personal for him as it is haunting for the viewer.
The 60 stark black-and-white images of anima show creatures that are tired, hungry, caged, vagabond, alerted, wary, hunting, approaching, moving away, holding their ground, or simply watching: a dog in a lake, a sleeping donkey, two black cats against an white sky, an owl on the ground, a canine in an empty parking lot, a wary ox, birds in flight on a hazy night, a drooling cow with an intense gaze, an overfed pigeon, two leopards reacting to something in the dark.
The background in these photos is either pitch black or vague white. And there is pronounced silence to the images even though the picture hints at noise (water, wind, a growl, flight).
We may find in these images glimpses of our own fatigue or hunger or wariness, but these aren’t anthropomorphic vision of the animal world.
But before long we realize that what we are seeing is not that bit of us in them but rather how we are entirely like them, not as “animals” but as animated beings, or simply as beings—period. The odd inclusion of an image of weeds at night reinforces the concept that what we are seeing in anima are various forms of beings in the night. It’s no wonder then that images are alternately peaceful, amusing, and frightening.
The exhibition, running through November 21, 2009, is the endnote of the Prix d’Excellence that Mr. Spricigo was awarded in 2008. The prize includes a grant of 15,000 euros allowing confirmed photographers to carry out a significant project of their choice and to be known to the public, namely through this show.
Jean-François Spricigo was born in Tournai, Belgium, in 1979, and now navigates between Paris and Brussels. He is represented in Paris by the Galerie Agathe Gaillard in the Marais.
anima is a free exhibition on display Oct. 29-Nov. 21, 2009, in the Salle Comtesse de Caen at the Institut de France, 27 quai de Conti, in the 6th arrondissement. Open Tues.-Sun. 11am-6pm. A chance to see a fascinating exhibit and the Intitute up close.
The opening of this show on Oct. 28 was also the occasion for the Académie des Beaux-Arts to announce the winner of the 2009 prize: Thibault Cuisset. He received the honored for his project “En Campagne” (In the Country or Countryside).
Mr. Cuisset explained to the jury that in developing this project he wishes to have a eye “‘of the here and now’ without patriotism or nostalgia on our French countryside… perhaps most ordinary but still very much alive and that participates to the great diversity of landscapes that can been seen in France.” It’s a task that’s far more difficult than it may sound precisely because the French countryside is so intimately connected with patriotism and nostalgia. The result of that project will be exhibited in November 2010.
Born in Maubeuge in northern France in 1958, Thibault Cuisset now lives in the Paris suburb of Montreuil. He is represented in Paris by the Galerie les Filles du Calvaire in the Marais.
Mr. Cuisset was selected from among 200 entrants then 10 finalists. The other finalists were Lucie et Simon (a duo), Jean-Christian Bourcart, Patricia Canino, Luc Choqueur, Eric Dexheimer, Claudine Doury, Denis Rouvre, Ambroise Tézenas, Alain Turpault.
