Jean-Robert Dantou — Face à ce qui se dérobe, les clichés de la folie
Exhibition from 18 October 2025 to 18 January 2026
Opening: Saturday 18 October at 10:30 a.m.
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Musée Nicéphore Niépce
28, Quai des Messageries 71100 Chalon-sur-Saône
As part of an exhibition exploring the relationship between photography and ‘madness’, the Nicéphore Niépce Museum is presenting an excerpt from Jean-Robert Dantou’s work, created and exhibited for the first time in the town of Tonnerre.
Olivia, a photographic relationship (2017-2022).
After working in psychiatry in the early 2010s (Les murs ne parlent pas, Kehrer, 2015), photographer Jean-Robert Dantou is writing a thesis on the spatial dimension of social inequalities at the École normale supérieure between 2017 and 2024. His research highlights institutional mechanisms that lead people in precarious situations to be displaced from urban centres to small rural communities they were previously unaware of. This work has led him to forge long-term relationships with people living with mental health issues. The original installation presented here aims to offer an alternative to the historical links between photography and psychiatry, in order to turn the page on visual stigmatisation: “Photographers have long used light effects, contrasts and framing to fuel their fascination with the drama of images of madness. Cropped bodies, blurred features, contorted faces, drooling or screaming mouths all contribute to reinforcing visual stereotypes about people living with mental disorders, which does them a great disservice.” Here, he invites visitors to explore how documentary photography can be used to build an egalitarian relationship based on consent, mutual trust and exchange.
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