RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE

Centre culturel JP Fabregue, St Yrieix-la-Perche
20/06/2008 - 15/09/2008
Looking closely at the poster campaign of the 2007 French presidential elections

Attempting to reveal what lies behind the clever semiotic construction of the messages: Segolene Royal borrowing Barbara Kruger’s crude and catchy style and Nicolas Sarkozy the candid and naïve blue sky and white clouds of Magritte.

In the 10 days between the 2 rounds of the elections I took close up photographs of the 12 posters displayed in every town square in France, ending up with around 60 fragments of smiles, eyes, slogans and textures. With these fragments and other pictures taken at the time, I have created new political alliances, new slogans, in a series of diptyches, triptychs, posters, banners and an artist book.

The project was the summer exhibition of the cultural centre Jean Pierre Fabregue in the town where the images were taken. One year on, my images have become interesting mementos of the electoral campaign and its promises.

With financial support fromm UCA research fund and the town of St Yrieix.