François Fontaine — Icônes

Cinéma du Panthéon
75005 Paris (FRANCE)
From the 16^th of October to the 31th of December 2019

An icon is an image, an object of contemplation. It is the archetype, the primitive and ideal near perfection model. May it be secular or religious, an icon is as obsessive as it is fascinating. Movie stars are admired and desired, they are rich and powerful, they make us dream yet remain inaccessible. Their daily virtual presence is an illusion that charms and haunts us, while at the same time keeping us estranged from the real world.
My attention was drawn to those who convey a particular emotion, the ones that I consider as being icons are creatures of a rare beauty and elegance, they are beings whose life style is synonymous with commitment and struggle. Beings for whom the words emancipation, liberation, rebellion have a particular resonance both in their lives and in their films. Beings who are fighting to make changes within society yet who remain fragile and vulnerable.
With the series Icons, I wanted to continue exploring the film world while using photography. This series of portraits, in colour, was produced from films projected on a screen. Each photograph is a pictorial re-interpretation of a scene in which a star evolves, a star whose gaze, expression and gestures touched me. The chromatic sfumato that composes these portraits makes these beings even more mysterious and timeless. Their faces – often famous and which we could contemplate endlessly – remain an enigma which I leave to each one of you to decipher. This is what makes myths, legends and icons.
François Fontaine