LOST LANDS
Photographs by Eloi Ficat.
As we set out to meet the Maasai people of a remote region of Tanzania, dominated by the volcano Ol Doinyo Lengaï, “The Mountain of God”, we enter a vast and melancholic landscape. Nature as far as the eye can see, animals reigning over these plains, a people full of traditions and authenticity: we are gripped by the nostalgia of the wild space and the delicate union between man and nature. From these lands of heat and ashes springs a poetic framework conducive to the interplay between the real and the unreal, which Éloi Ficat places at the heart of his photographic work. It is with the sincere gaze of the observer that he was able to grasp the immensity and power of places and lives, while playing on the magic and depth of an atmosphere. In the photographs of “Lost Lands”, the horizon fades and lets us feel the dry and warm texture of the earth and air. Timeless poetic settings on which the real, the present, the human stand out. Thanks to a few windows open on these almost hidden places, without having tried to photograph an action, we are caught up in the force of the moments. If the series “Lost Lands” takes an aesthetic and poetic look at a place and the stories that are played out there, it cannot be detached from the reality that is lived there. Land lost in the immensity of the landscapes, but also lost for the Maasai populations who can no longer live on their land as before. Economic and political reasons are at the root of this, the “Mountain of God” cannot protect the peoples who live under its gaze.
Éloi Ficat was born in Bordeaux in 1994. Photographer and cinematographer in the audiovisual industry, he affirms his passion for the image through these two practices that he feeds from each other. In 2014, he directed the abstract series Luminary, which was selected at the Vincennes Image Festival. This was followed by the series Outrenoir and Éclat, in which he explored the movement of water, creating unreal and pictorial images. It was then towards travel photography that Éloi Ficat directed his attraction to the play between the real and the unreal, while maintaining the pictorial character that is the essence of his work. The simplicity of his compositions and his meticulous work with light offer us a sincere and aestheticized reality. He created Confins, a minimalist and dreamlike series evoking borders. Then Terres Perdues, where his sensitivity as an observer focuses on the Maasai people of Tanzania and their territory of life.
This exhibition also allows you to see or revisit Dora Stanczel’s porcelain lamps and sculptures, Hoon Moreau’s and Antoine Vignault’s furniture, Pierre Casenove’s ceramics, Yves & Benjamin Pagart’s functional sculptures and Clotilde Ancarani’s bronzes.
A décor enriched with seats, coffee tables and vintage collectible lighting by Emmanuelle Vidal, Antique dealer specializing in design from the 50s to the 80s.
From March 7 to May 18, 2024, 2 PLACE MONTOULIEU, TOULOUSE – FRANCE
Wednesday to Saturday from 14.00 to 19.00 h or by appointment
