17 December 2013 – 18 January 2014 / French Institute of Thessaloniki
Opening: 17/12, 20.00
Place: French Institute of Thessaloniki, Allatini-Dasseau exhibition hall (2A, L. Stratou str., tel. +30 2310821231)
Opening hours: Mo-Sa 14.00-19.00
Co-organization: TMP, French Institute of Thessaloniki, General Consulate of France in Thessaloniki, Municipality of Thessaloniki
As part of the Parallel Program of the PhotoBiennale
The Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, the French Institute of Thessaloniki, the General Consulate of France in Thessaloniki and the Directorate of Culture of the Municipality of the Thessaloniki present the exhibition “Urban Landscapes of Thessaloniki”, by the French photographer Jean-Christophe Ballot
The photographer was in Thessaloniki during the months of July and November of 2013, on a commission assigned by the above-mentioned parties, while the exhibited work of over 70 images will enrich the museum’s collection.
By choosing the city of the Thessaloniki, the artist continues his theme project, which started in 1997, in the port of Surabaya (Indonesia), followed by a photographic project of the port of Casablanca (Morocco). This time, though, in Thessaloniki, the port serves only as a springboard: his field of action expands as he photographs the urban scenery and its newly added, globalized features, as well as the architectural volumes which form the urban web in the center of the Thessaloniki.
The space is mainly defined by the buildings’ composition in the frame– whether that is large apartment buildings or historical monuments. In this way, the images are not descriptive, but performative, uncovering with a rather clear manner the chaotic structure and the co-existence of the considerably different features which create the Greek cityscape and, to some extent, the contemporary Greek identity. His focus falls on the market when it is closed, on the stadiums when they are empty, on the underground world of the under-construction subway, on the military cemetery. The spectator stands before a different city, where the lines, the shadows and the volumes dominate, soundlessly, suspended in time. These are, after all, the coordinates which frame Ballot’s artistic practice in reference to time and space: the void and the contemplative suspension in it.
The city transforms into a scenery sometimes easily recognizable and sometimes flattened out by the commercial interventions, which create their small microcosms. There the images could have been located anywhere: in Los Angeles, in Tokyo, in any metropolitan city in the world.
The rupture in this “landscape” is created by the graffiti, which add a subversive element that often remains unnoticed.
Ultimately, it is about landscapes within a landscape, as implied by the title, which are defined by the photographer and delivered back to the viewer. Besides, the relationship one forms with the space and the city one lives in also reflects one’s culture. In a times of crisis it may seem more useful than ever to take a step back and perceive our city from a different angle.
Jean-Christophe Ballot
Born in 1960, Ballot lives and works in Paris. He studied Architecture (Architecture D.P.L.G) and he is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l’image et du son (La Femis) and a former scholar of the French Academy of Rome, based in Villa Medici.
His oeuvre revolves around the concept of space encompassing cities’ urban landscapes and architecture (Berlin, Rome, Paris, Singapore, Shanghai, New York, Chicago), ports (Casablanca, Surabaya), confined spaces (the architecture of the Sahel nomads, the caves of Cappadocia), memorial spaces and monuments connected with them (the Louvre, the old National Gallery of France, the Rodin Museum, the Bourdelle Museum, the Zadkine Museum), spiritual spaces (the Holly Mountain, the temples of Southern India, Bali, Java, Sri Lanka, the pilgrimage of St. Jakob de Compostella, the Bopor Abbey), private spaces (the chambers of the Indonesian brothels, artists’ work spaces) and natural landscapes (St Victoire Mountain, the flooded Loire, the oyster farming sea-fields), as well as, archaeological sites.
Ballot has realized numerous photographic projects on public commissions and has been awarded several prizes for his photographic work. He has also directed several documentaries.
His works, which have been published in several catalogues and monographs, have also been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions internationally, and they are included in many public and private collections.
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