René & Jean
France / 2011
Laureate of Le Bal /
SFR Jeunes Talents
Visuals
Analog color photographies,
postal archives, texts
Text 1 : FR / ENG
Text 2 : FR / ENG
Views
Book
René lives in Creuse and Jean in Morbihan. They don't know each other, however both are my grandfathers. From December 2009 to January 2011, I have collected their words and fixed their image in their respective universe. Although they are far from each other,I have noted numerous similarities between them. First of all,the way they are deeply rooted in their territory and the particular relationship they consequently have with nature. They both spent their childhood in the country. As youg men, they chose to leave their native home to work, one abroad, the other in Paris, but finally to come back later on to live in the house of their younger days. Secondly, they have in common an acute artistic sensitivity. In both of them, the borderline between their creative activity and their daily life is mobile. Collecting, gleaning, accumulating provides the raw material for their imagination. The fact that they both live alone and are self-sufficient after having chosen to travel, might explain their questioning of the world around them. These points which absolutely converge, bring me to the understanding that for one as well as for the other, these permanent "works" are part of their life,obvious and even necessary. These texts and images are a tentative to retrace the relationship René and Jean keep with creation, poetry and their daily life.
Lolita Bourdet