This series of photos shows five public places where a strange smoke invades
the space. The various places represented are linked to areas of real terrorist
attacks; an administrative building (Oklahoma City, WT), some escalators
and a waiting room (subway in Paris), a night-club and a restaurant (Bali).
But rather than being specific, the architecture is standardized, schematized
and functional. The space is empty and uninhabited and exists only by itself.
This representation is even stressed by the computer-generated image which
permits to smooth down surfaces and by the exclusive use of shades of grey.
The event itself is reduced to smoke that invades the space at various stages
of progress. It is inscribed in the symbolism of danger. The choice of pink
distinguishes the action from the place, creates nonsense and reinforces
the idea of toxicity.
The choice of the colours, the framing, the glossy paper, the plexiglas,
as well as the artificial construction of the event and the minimization
of its constitutive elements create an over-aestheticism which moves the
spectator away from a familiar world because nothing connects him to it
personally anymore. Contrary to the media that insist on the conciliation
of private and public, these photos re-question the power of the image.
If it is so easy to witness all important events nearly in real-time, can
we still wonder about their representations and what they submit to interpretation.
In an extremely mediatized world where the spectacular and the sensational
are more than present, we propose a model which keeps the spectator at a
distance while dealing with the current events in which people strive to
live.