Bruno Sassarone, Paris

Bruno Sassarone reveals an abstract and radical Paris. Playing with the effects of light and shadow, his photographs offer a new vision, transforming the way we view the city. Text in English and French. Paris – a photographic book with the city as its theme – takes an abstract approach to depicting the city, while retaining a direct relationship with reality. It is part of the tradition of modernist photography, but it distinguishes itself by the perfect appearance of digitally retouched images. Shadows play a key role in simplifying reality, dissociating locations from their classical visual representation. The economy of form thus created enables the depiction of Paris to be radically transformed, going beyond the customary descriptive task of photography. At first glance, the viewer perceives the overall contrast of the image, with only the light lines standing out against the shadows. As the eye gradually adapts, the details in the shadows become apparent, introducing a second way of reading the photograph and enriching the way it is perceived. Paris is thus viewed anew, moving from shadow to abstraction. Text in English and French.