From October 11th, 2007
to March 30th, 2008
Curator :
Marie-Claude Beaud
“Welcome to my ‘studio.’ My studio is what my friend Vincent Beaurin based this exhibition’s scenography on. When I return from my voyages, this is where I cover trestle tables with my drawings and first prints, and whether randomly or more deliberately, I set them out next to one another on the walls, from floor to ceiling, like in an old-fashioned stamp dealer’s shop. You may well risk, I’m afraid, getting lost in this profusion of works, whose very concise legends make no allusions to my models’ countries of origin. This is intentional on my part, and reflects my defiance against the notion of nations and their artificial borders – a position that has only strengthened in the course of my voyages on every continent. What captivates me is the personality of every being in this world, outside of their ethnic, their religious and, even more so, their national affiliations. These drawings, paintings and photographs are works, and as such, they are autonomous. But the legends refer to pages in one or other of the two tomes of the book Zoé Zoé, which, if you like, will provide information on these women. You can leaf through them on the chairs and loungers set out in this fine gallery. I spent six years making these portraits. Take your time as well. Thank you for visiting.” Titouan Lamazou
The Musée de l’Homme in the Palais de Chaillot exhibited, over 1,200 m2 in floor space, six years of voyages across the globe, going from one group of women to another. Held from October 2007 to June 2008, after three successive extensions, Femmes du monde welcomed a total of 200,000 visitors.
The exhibition sketched a picture of the world through more than 200 portraits of women testifying to the diversity of beings within the communities visited.
This diversity is reflected by the palette of Titouan Lamazou, whose work ranges from the simplest off-the-cuff pencil drawings, to more elaborate paintings, silver-halide photos, painted photos, view-camera photos, right up to photo-tableaux that employ the most sophisticated digital techniques.
