Day: August 29, 2023

For the first time, here is a serie of urbex style photos taken in a small abandoned castle, on the heights of the Lot Valley and the Vineyard. The mayor of the village advised me to take a look there, I didn’t know what to expect… Clearly, the place is regularly visited. We find the furnitures left behind, the floor littered with books and magazines, the ceiling of the living room collapsed, gaping into the attic. Absolute silence. On the first floor, the atmosphere is a bit dreamlike, the impression that the family has suddenly left, or disappeared, vanished into thin air: an envelope, Orwell’s book 1984, a napkin on the heated towel rail in the bathroom, women’s magazines, a wooden toy, the dishes on the kitchen table… But when we go down to the cellars, the hairs stand up a little, and we feel we’re in a horror movie, you expect to find a dead body hanging somewhere. But no, just vats, barrels… and a rocking chair.

Last Friday, concerts evening in Prayssac for the village festival. This year, the headliner is Mouss and Hakim, the brothers from the band Zebda. Not particularly my cup of tea, but the desire to take concert photos motivates me to go. I’m not disappointed: the group has energy to spare, the audience is won over, sings along with them, and laughs at the good jokes and the little choreographies of the singing duet. Just after, the group OIA Star arrives on stage with its singer with a Hunter S. Thompson look, the audience is more sparse, but ready to pogo. The sound is good, however I am very surprised by a riff and a rhythm completely identical to the song Black Math by the White Stripes. For long seconds, I said to myself “They’re covering the White Stripes… I’m dreaming!” and yes, I was dreaming, it was just a good big copy of the intro.

The evening was not ruined however. I always have so much fun shooting artists on stage, capturing their facial expressions and their emotions.

I have been a volunteer in the Rencontres Photo de Castelfranc association since 2015. This year, I led a project that was important to my heart: offering the public an exhibition by the photographer Reza in Castelfranc, and, let’s be crazy, making come the artist to my village.

In summer 2022, I went to Lauzerte where Reza was exhibiting his work and offered a guided walk of the exhibition. I immediately saw the same thing in Castelfranc. Without a second thought, I went to talk to him about it: he received the proposal with great attention and gave me the contact details of his wife Rachel Deghati who manages their agency and contracts.

Of course, it was not that easy: inviting such a big name has a cost, that’s normal, and a slightly heavier organization than usual.

With the Covid-19 pandemic , the association has experienced a few difficult years. Ultra small team, organizational difficulty, less budget… But I believed in it. I spoke about it to people around me who also believed in the project and agreed to be part of it.

And there we are, we did it! 28 photos exhibited on the walls of the village, a series created especially for Castelfranc, to not repeat the same one than in Lauzerte. Reza and Rachel honored us with their kind presence for the opening on July 14, and for a guided walk on July 15. The public was there every day, in large numbers, with laudatory comments. During the walk, a hundred people was very interested by Reza’s words, passionate, full of emotion, in a silence and concentration that moved the artist.

A second exhibition was proposed, photos produced by residents of the retirement home in Prayssac, the Balcons du Lot, during workshops that I gave last spring. Exhibiting their photos at the same time as Reza’s “One Land, One Family” exhibition made perfect sense. Residents even came to the opening, then to visit. What emotions!

Today we took down the photos. While the sun shone throughout the Rencontres Photos de Castelfranc (except during the commented walk, fortunately it was a little hidden), it rained, as if the weather was in tune.

A big thank you to the team of volunteers who participated in the organization of this wonderful event, to the municipality, to the partners and sponsors, to the residents of the retirement home and to the people who made this collaboration possible, and especially to Reza and Rachel Deghati. A very beautiful encounter, rich and simple at the same time.

This week, sculptor Francis Candau invited artist Magali Castellon to exhibit her prints in his gallery. The result is a clever blend of two seemingly opposing arts, yet perfectly in harmony. Poetry, elegance, a touch of madness…

The exhibition is visible until July 9 every afternoon from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the workshop-gallery of Francis Candau, rue du pont de fer in Castelfranc. The opening on Saturday July 1st was a real success.