Dahmane

Baboulin, Jean-Claude.
ISBN: 3894502703 Category:

$28.00

Sold Out

Erotic photography. #0621

Recollection, con­fes­sion, provo­ca­tion
The work of Dahmane has always revolved around the female body in all its splen­dour in an obses­sive way. The pres­ence of legs, hips and busts that partly or entirely reveal their nudity is simul­ta­ne­ously a rec­ol­lec­tion, con­fes­sion and provo­ca­tion.

It is a rec­ol­lec­tion because the child that each of us once was, is seized by the impos­sible yet defini­tively real memory of the belly that con­ceived him or her. It is a con­fes­sion because whether it is in its totality or in each of its parts that are all sup­pos­edly desir­able, this body is in spite of itself the implicit sub­ject of desire. It is a provo­ca­tion because ahead of any morals, there is a decency that is empha­sised rather than breached by nudity. His images incite us to acknowl­edge the exis­tence of this indis­cernible decency.

Early begin­nings
Dahmane was born in Paris in 1959. Both of his par­ents were painters. He was exposed to the world’s com­plexity and beauty at a very young age. As a teenager, he was deter­mined to pursue an artistic career, always turning towards pho­tog­raphy.
When he was twenty years old, fol­lowing a short expe­ri­ence in the world of fashion, he pro­gres­sively became the great por­traitist he is today. This is the dual world in which he has evolved since. An explo­ration of his œuvre is pre­sented here.

Environment, nude, face
Dahmane is an urban pho­tog­ra­pher. He explores all the angles of cities and focuses on the geo­metric shapes of the mega­lopolis, like the places that Paris con­ceals or pro­tects, such as opu­lent apart­ments, night­clubs, or closed places to which he is given access.

Without its inhab­i­tants, these cities are nothing and rep­re­senting the world as it is would be point­less. He there­fore intro­duces the female body, which for him appears to be the only way to enchant this world once again. According to him, the female body bears a vast poetic dimen­sion that allows dreams to go beyond the frame, be it mental, pic­to­rial or pho­to­graphic. The aim is not to get out of the frame but on the con­trary to include a pres­ence that is dis­turbing because provoca­tive, obses­sive because fem­i­nine, daz­zling because beau­tiful.

There is always a nude body within the frame as that nude is always a person. The out­lines of the flesh, the poten­tial for expres­sion and the power of evoking faces cap­ti­vate him. The women he pho­tographs are not models. He sug­gests to them to pose because he grasps their indi­vidual per­son­ality alongside their beauty.

Focusing solely on the nudity in his pho­tographs would be neglecting the essence of each of his pho­tographs, that of the artic­u­la­tion between the gaze and the stature, the decor and the body, the world and the per­son­ality. Each image bears wit­ness to a story, that of the body’s set­ting in a given place, of which the mul­tiple emo­tions can only be grasped by the expres­sion of the face.

Additional Information

AuthorBaboulin, Jean-Claude.
Number of pages80
PublisherTaschen
Year Published1990
Binding Type

Softcover

Book Condition

Fine

Elizabeth’s Bookshops have been one of Australia’s premier independent book dealers since 1973. Elizabeth’s family-owned business operates four branches in Perth CBD, Fremantle (WA), and Newtown (NSW). All orders are dispatched within 24 hours from our Fremantle Warehouse.

All items can be viewed at Elizabeth’s Bookshop Warehouse, 23 Queen Victoria Street, Fremantle WA.
Click & Collect (no postage cost!) is available at all branches.