Viv(r)e la vie! / Finland

I have always had a feeling that arriving to a certain age, we become invisible towards ourselves and towards the rest of the people. The photography project V i v ( r ) e l a V i e ! is a homage to people that have decided not to become invisible, to people that live life “in the moment”. Surrounded by their friends, by their husbands or wives, by their relatives, by their boyfriends or girlfriends…

Viv(r)e la vie! is a photographic typology of couples that meet in order to dance. Photographs of couples in profile with a landscape of a countryside in the background, of perennial trees in three planes; landscape representing the power of vital force, of immortality.

Couples of a certain age, people barely seen socially, but who have not stopped living life fully and whose close relation is photographed in the outing dances of their area. The photographs give visibility to people that, for a certain time, have lacked such visibility, and at the same time documents the cultural diversity that exists between different cities and countries.

I began the series Viv(r)e la Vie! in Guadalajara, Spain, with the idea of putting together new series of couples in different cities around the world. The second series of “Viv(r)e la Vie!” was developed in the American city of Philadelphia in June 2011 thanks to an artist residency I was granted by the Philadelphia Art Hotel and the third in June 2012 in Finland thanks to a residency granted by the Arteles Creative Center. The fourth series of this project was produced in November 2012 in Philippines thanks to a residency granted by the Balay Kalamragan IAR program.

This project would like to honor those that live life fully, those people that are reaching a mature age, but remain active.

“Votre mise en scène des couples âgés, déjà remarquée à plusieurs reprises, reste en tous points remarquables. Tant par la direction ferme de vos modèles concentrés que par sa cohérence, tant par le cadrage strict que par le traitement de la couleur, subtile, pastel mais jamais fade, qui transforme le décor en fond peint pour un théâtre du temps plein de tendresse sans mièvrerie. Vous savez travailler sur le fil du rasoir et évitez toujours de tomber du mauvais côté.” Christian Caujolle, le 22 décembre 2011.