Denis Dailleux — Persan-Beaumont
Galerie du centre culturel Valery-Larbaud
20, rue Maréchal Foch, 03 200, Vichy (FRANCE)
From June 15 to September 9, 2019
Denis Dailleux’s name is associated with the delicate art of portraiture. The photos of children he took in Persan-Beaumont (Val-d’Oise), in the 90s, are less a documentary series than a gesture towards the other.
Framing children growing up in disadvantaged districts is a challenge. Denis Dailleux took up the dare by tightening the décor to only linger on the small bodies, pushing back in the shade the hard matter of the walls. These pictures in black and white, born from a secret chemistry, demonstrate his ability to divert the stereotypes of the poor districts in order to reintroduce some grace and innocence.
“While I was going back to my village where, during summer, I had photographed the inhabitants and my great aunt Juliette, I met in the Corail train some boys from the “Village” of Persan. They were a dozen and had spent a few days of holidays in Sables-d’Olonne. They were wandering from wagon to wagon with a radio that played some rap music without anyone telling them off. I showed them the images I took of Juliette and I remember them exclaiming “Class!”. It was at that moment that I asked them if they agreed to meet in their district. Coco gave me their phone number. At that time, the press spoke very little about the problems in the suburbs but I was a little nervous still when in autumn 1987 I decided to call Coco. He told me to meet him the following Sunday at the Persan-Beaumont station. Soon, I knew I was onto something interesting. It was like a photographic revelation to see the children letting go in front of the camera. “ – Denis Dailleux
The book “Persan-Beaumont” will be available starting from April 2018, at the Bec en l’Air editions.
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