02 > artists > Luc Maréchaux

Paris - FR

The work of Luc Maréchaux is divided between his activities as a director and as a photographer.

His position as a witness in the realisation of his documentaries interrogates the role of the committed reporter, and more largely, of the media. Whether he’s looking into the life of a homeless person in the glacial streets of Paris, Nigerian women’s actions to preserve their traditions, the spiritual route of a French man in India, or in a humanitarian project in Madagascar, his objective is immutable: live and share moments of connection, real humanity. The key to seize the essence of his work resides more in a moral posture than in an ordinary political reflection. It’s in his look rather than in his speech that we have to search. His documentary work has been presented to the public on several European tv channels, as well as during festivals.

Being an independent photographer since 1996, he worked for the Alpha Oméga Agency from 1998 to 2002. His photographical route is structured around two axes. The first one, favouring the encounter of the other, meets up his film choices. Whether it be in India, Congo, Madagascar or in Syria, his photographs remain above all human documents. The second one, more interested by a certain formal research, forms a meditation on the bob up of beauty where we don’t expect it. His photographs are regularly exposed in thematic exhibitions in France and elsewhere. Some of them have been published, in periodicals, magazines, or albums. A book of photographs that shows the impact of time on content will be published in 2009 by Amers, with a text written by Alain Rémond.

“The human aspect is essential for me. I believe in the idea of transmission. My work is first of all an exchange based on respect. Whether it be in the disadvantaged neighbourhoods of big Indian cities, or in a small village in Madagascar, my approach stays the same. I refuse to take clichés without being seen. The fact of being exposed is part of my process. I move forward at the search of the other with an open and human attitude. Each of my images is the result of one of these moments of connexion: an exchange of looks, a smile, a conversation. Sometimes, it’s a lot more. This connexion, this mutual consent, even if they express themselves in a moment of silence, these are the foundations and the essence of my work.”