Jean-Robert
Dantou

Jean-Robert Dantou

biography

French photographer, born in 1980, living in Paris.

Both trained as a photographer at Louis Lumière school and as a social scientist at EHESS, Jean-Robert Dantou is investigating the connections between photography and social sciences for more than 10 years. As an involved photographer, he explores social issues such as memory, mental health, or migrations – in the USA, Germany, Asia, Chile and France. Involved in long term and/or collaborative projects, he hosted for 4 years sound and visual workshops for newly arrived students at the Jean Renoir secondary school in Bondy (Paris suburbs), and worked for 2 years residence with an interdisciplinary social scientists team at the École Normale Supérieure of Paris on the photographic representation of madness (Les Murs ne parlent pas).

In 2014, he joined the documentary, artistic and civic project « La France vue d’ici » (Mediapart et ImageSingulières) and lead a 3 years investigation on the «Territoires de luttes » (struggles territories) of contemporary France.

Sharing his time and works between french institutional commissions, artist residencies, research and teaching, his work led to several exhibitions and number of publications on different subjects as french cooperative sector (« Ceux qui aiment les lundis », ed. Le Chêne 2012), french small and middle-sized companies (« Mon entreprise prend la pose », ed. Democratic Books 2010), and mental health (« Les Murs ne parlent pas », ed. Kehrer 2015 – best international photo book prize at PHotoEspana 2016).

Series

Holding, Arriving, Photographing Tonnerre, 2017-2024

Serie | For seven years, photographer Jean-Robert Dantou has been carrying out research into documentary photography in a commune on the outskirts of Paris, as part of a doctorate in Research and Creation (SACRe - ENS - PSL).

Fighting Lands, 2017

Series | « Circle of silence », « Protest », « Night standing », « Festive snack », « Unlimited strike » … Everywhere in France, collective groups, associations, unions, citizens are gathering, protesting, taking a stand in the public space to tell their anger, their exasperation, their demands and display their fights.

Constrained Objects, 2014

Series | A twisted toothbrush, a pipe, a trash bag, an engagement ring, perfume bottles... Jean-Robert Dantou tackles here the representations of madness with the idea that photography, always highlighting the crisis and never the everyday life, often shows monsters, rarely men.

Living Together, 2012

Series | For two years I collaborated with an interdisciplinary social sciences research team. The subject was the treatment of disabled and dependent persons in their social or family life. I met twenty of them, I asked them to speak about the social players who daily took care of them.

A Wall on the Horizon, 2010

Series | For four years I created workshops for pupils of a reception class at the ''Jean Renoir'' secondary school in Bondy. This project benefits from three sound creators (Anna Salzberg, Arnaud Forest, Jeanne Robet) and one photographer working together.

My Company is Posing, 2010

Series | Between March and October 2010, two photographers, Jean-Robert Dantou and Stephan Zaubitzer traveled in France to photograph companies.

Stones of Memory, 2010

Series | Waves of immigration followed one after the other throughout the 20th century depending on the historical events that happened in the area : World War One, funding of the state of Israel in 1948, Six-Day War in 1967, Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Political Landscapes, USA, 2008

Series | This series belongs to a work that I undertook for several years on the different symbolic places of the political life ( TV sets, headquarters of political parties, meeting halls).

Political Landscapes, France, 2007

Series | The French presidential campaign brings about a lot of electoral rallies where medias, candidates and campaigners meet and exchange.

Malabar Beach, 2005

Series | This series has been shot on the beaches of Kerala, south India, between Kovalam and Kânyâkumârî in 2005.

Holding, Arriving, Photographing Tonnerre, 2017-2024

Serie | For seven years, photographer Jean-Robert Dantou has been carrying out research into documentary photography in a commune on the outskirts of Paris, as part of a doctorate in Research and Creation (SACRe - ENS - PSL).

Fighting Lands, 2017

Series | « Circle of silence », « Protest », « Night standing », « Festive snack », « Unlimited strike » … Everywhere in France, collective groups, associations, unions, citizens are gathering, protesting, taking a stand in the public space to tell their anger, their exasperation, their demands and display their fights.

Constrained Objects, 2014

Series | A twisted toothbrush, a pipe, a trash bag, an engagement ring, perfume bottles... Jean-Robert Dantou tackles here the representations of madness with the idea that photography, always highlighting the crisis and never the everyday life, often shows monsters, rarely men.

Living Together, 2012

Series | For two years I collaborated with an interdisciplinary social sciences research team. The subject was the treatment of disabled and dependent persons in their social or family life. I met twenty of them, I asked them to speak about the social players who daily took care of them.

A Wall on the Horizon, 2010

Series | For four years I created workshops for pupils of a reception class at the ''Jean Renoir'' secondary school in Bondy. This project benefits from three sound creators (Anna Salzberg, Arnaud Forest, Jeanne Robet) and one photographer working together.

My Company is Posing, 2010

Series | Between March and October 2010, two photographers, Jean-Robert Dantou and Stephan Zaubitzer traveled in France to photograph companies.

Stones of Memory, 2010

Series | Waves of immigration followed one after the other throughout the 20th century depending on the historical events that happened in the area : World War One, funding of the state of Israel in 1948, Six-Day War in 1967, Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Political Landscapes, USA, 2008

Series | This series belongs to a work that I undertook for several years on the different symbolic places of the political life ( TV sets, headquarters of political parties, meeting halls).

Political Landscapes, France, 2007

Series | The French presidential campaign brings about a lot of electoral rallies where medias, candidates and campaigners meet and exchange.

Malabar Beach, 2005

Series | This series has been shot on the beaches of Kerala, south India, between Kovalam and Kânyâkumârî in 2005.

Holding, Arriving, Photographing Tonnerre, 2017-2024

Serie | For seven years, photographer Jean-Robert Dantou has been carrying out research into documentary photography in a commune on the outskirts of Paris, as part of a doctorate in Research and Creation (SACRe - ENS - PSL).

Fighting Lands, 2017

Series | « Circle of silence », « Protest », « Night standing », « Festive snack », « Unlimited strike » … Everywhere in France, collective groups, associations, unions, citizens are gathering, protesting, taking a stand in the public space to tell their anger, their exasperation, their demands and display their fights.

Constrained Objects, 2014

Series | A twisted toothbrush, a pipe, a trash bag, an engagement ring, perfume bottles... Jean-Robert Dantou tackles here the representations of madness with the idea that photography, always highlighting the crisis and never the everyday life, often shows monsters, rarely men.

Living Together, 2012

Series | For two years I collaborated with an interdisciplinary social sciences research team. The subject was the treatment of disabled and dependent persons in their social or family life. I met twenty of them, I asked them to speak about the social players who daily took care of them.

A Wall on the Horizon, 2010

Series | For four years I created workshops for pupils of a reception class at the ''Jean Renoir'' secondary school in Bondy. This project benefits from three sound creators (Anna Salzberg, Arnaud Forest, Jeanne Robet) and one photographer working together.

My Company is Posing, 2010

Series | Between March and October 2010, two photographers, Jean-Robert Dantou and Stephan Zaubitzer traveled in France to photograph companies.

Stones of Memory, 2010

Series | Waves of immigration followed one after the other throughout the 20th century depending on the historical events that happened in the area : World War One, funding of the state of Israel in 1948, Six-Day War in 1967, Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Political Landscapes, USA, 2008

Series | This series belongs to a work that I undertook for several years on the different symbolic places of the political life ( TV sets, headquarters of political parties, meeting halls).

Political Landscapes, France, 2007

Series | The French presidential campaign brings about a lot of electoral rallies where medias, candidates and campaigners meet and exchange.

Malabar Beach, 2005

Series | This series has been shot on the beaches of Kerala, south India, between Kovalam and Kânyâkumârî in 2005.

Interviews

Les carnets de la création
France Culture
—
Interview by Aude Lavigne, 2016

Interview on the exhibition “Les murs ne parlent pas” presented in Mérignac on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Agence Vu’, at the Old Church of Saint Vincent in June 2016. Jean-Robert Dantou presents his series ” Objects under constraint ” which is the first part of the photographic trilogy ” Les Murs ne parlent pas “.

Listen

Regardez-voir
France Inter
—
Interview by Brigitte Patient, 2016

Jean-Robert Dantou uses photography as an experimental tool to question representations of madness. Rather than capturing an image on the spot, he opts for staging and associates the photographed subjects with his reflexive approach. To bypass the stigma and to get out of the spectacular, to work on the representation of psychic suffering with patients, relatives, caregivers, to give birth to images that make sense to them…

Listen

short film

Jean-Robert Dantou & Printille Davigo
Holding
–
« Holding » is a short film on the profession of Marcel, 75 years old, hawker.

Exhibitions

Objets sous contrainte
—
Le Hangar, 18 place du Châtelain 1050 Bruxelles (BELGIQUE)
—
From November 15, 2019 to January 18, 2020

More information

Les murs ne parlent pas
—
Vieille église Saint-Vincent, Rue de la Vieille Église — 33700 Merignac
—
From April 16 to June 30, 2016

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Objets sous contrainte
—
Ecole Normale Supérieure, 45, rue d’Ulm — 75005 Paris
—
From November 13 to December 13, 2014

More information

books

Les murs ne parlent pas

Kehrer - 2015

Ceux qui aiment les lundis

Le Chêne - 2012

Mon entreprise prend la pose

Democratic Books - 2011

Ombres chinoises

Atlantica - 2004

Les murs ne parlent pas

Kehrer - 2015

Ceux qui aiment les lundis

Le Chêne - 2012

Mon entreprise prend la pose

Democratic Books - 2011

Ombres chinoises

Atlantica - 2004

Les murs ne parlent pas

Kehrer - 2015

Ceux qui aiment les lundis

Le Chêne - 2012

Mon entreprise prend la pose

Democratic Books - 2011

Ombres chinoises

Atlantica - 2004