Weddings are one of the most photographed acts of love. Couples come to the photographer to manifest and immortalise their union in the midst of predictable elements: bouquets of flowers, painted backdrops, lights, columns, wrought iron banisters etc. Each couple is living their personal story and yet, in front of the camera, all these portraits resemble each other. The clothes, postures, accessories are quasi-identical. The group of 35 portraits realised by the Breton photographer René Thersiquel (1899-1950) underline the repetitive character of this socially codified unique moment. The black and white reinforces the uniformity of the ensemble. These wedding portraits reveal the way in which bodies ease into poses whose conventions they have interiorised. In comparison, the Swiss artist Romain Mader (born 1988), flouts these aesthetic conventions. Taken from the project, Ekaterina (2009-2016) in which he plays the principal role of a tourist travelling to Ukraine in the search of a fiancée, the colour photography of his own fictional wedding is a rebellion against the rules of wedding photography. The intrusion, like a break-in, of his smiling face at the edge of the frame, subverts archetype. The blurry messy-haired close-up contrasts with, in the background, the incarnation of the perfect internet bride. Playing with the codes of the selfie, Romain Mader’s photo-performance is an ironic take on the stereotypical wedding photo.
In partnership with the organisation, Noir Brillant, the Musée de Bretagne and Guernsey Photography Festival.
Nathalie Boulouch is an art and photography historian, art critic and exhibition curator. She lectures at the University of Rennes 2. She has published a number of essays and contributes regularly to journals. She has collaborated with a variety of institutions such as the Albert Kahn Museum (Boulogne), the Bretagne Museum (Rennes), the Point du jour (Cherbourg), the Palais Galliera Museum of Fashion (Paris) and Photo Elysée (Lausanne). She has also participated, as guest curator, in two editions of the Guernsey Photography Festival.
