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CECI TUERA CELA – Chimères du Réel, solo exhibition at La Chapelle de Clairefontaine
Solo exhibition from 3 June to 3 September 2023
• inauguration from 2 – 6 pm on June 3rd
• round table discussion on AI at 5 pm with Gaspard Koenig, Helga Rouyer and Baudoin Lebon
La Chapelle – centre d’art contemporain
12 Impasse de l’Abbaye
78120 Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines
Ceci Tuera Cela – Chimères du réel
(This Will Kill That – Hallucinations of Veracity)
Can photography still bear witness to reality in the age of AI? How are relentless waves of technology impacting our lives and our relationship to the photographic image? How have automation, hyper-connectivity and artificial intelligence altered our perception of reality and veracity?
In 1832, in a chapter titled “This Will Kill That” of his novel Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo wrote about technological upheaval and how the printed book had replaced the monument. A century later, the photographer revives this line of questioning. What are we gaining and what have we lost as we plunge headlong into the digital revolution?
The show features a retrospective of more than a decade of Tomas van Houtryve’s work that examines the changing place of photography in our lives, from drone surveillance to social networks to Artificial Intelligence.
Read the review of the show by Beaux Arts.
TV interview: France 24 l’Invité du Jour (French version)
I was invited as the featured interview of the day on France 24 television for a ten-minute French language studio segment with host Damien Coquet. We spoke about my photography of the Notre Dame cathedral, my upcoming exhibition at La Chapelle de Clairefontaine and my ongoing solo show in the parvis of Notre-Dame de Paris.
TV interview: Notre Dame exhibition on France 24 (English version)
France 24 television featured my major exhibition in front of the Notre Dame cathedral with a seven-minute studio interview in Paris by Sharon Gaffney on their English language service. The solo exhibition is open from spring 2023 to summer 2024.
Major Exhibition in front of the Notre Dame cathedral of Paris
Notre-Dame: La Renaissance d’une Icon
solo exhibition, from spring 2023 to spring 2024
Parvis de Notre-Dame
Paris, 75004
France
Notre Dame: Rebuilding an Icon is a major exhibition featuring 21 large-scale photographs by Tomas van Houtryve, offering an exceptional view into the heart of the cathedral and its history. The solo show is located on the main square (parvis) in front of the Notre Dame cathedral of Paris and is open through spring 2024.
The outdoor exhibition features two sections. The first, The Cathedral After the Fire, features color photographs of the aftermath of the April 2019 fire that struck Notre Dame and the beginning of its massive restoration.
For the second section, Echoes of the Past, Tomas van Houtryve used a 19th-century wooden camera and the wet-plate collodion process to photograph the cathedral and make portraits of workers, scientists and artisans engaged in the rebuilding. The black-and-white photos seek parallels with Notre Dame’s previous restoration in the middle of the 19th-century, lead by the architect Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.
Artist statement:
“My visits to Notre Dame left me inspired by the remarkable challenges of rebuilding and by the depth of the structure’s meaning: Notre Dame is more than a cathedral, and it has many facets.
The epicenter of historic events, a perennial muse, and a reoccurring motif, Notre Dame has been photographed since the very introduction of photography in 1839. To pay homage to its past, I decided to use two photographic approaches. This first color series highlights the exceptional scale and diversity of the current task.
Even in its most damaged state, Notre Dame remained a place of awe and veneration. As I explored the cathedral to document the aftermath of the fire and the beginning of the restoration, I was often struck by strong emotions. Rather than ignore this flood of intangible feelings, I tried to channel them into photographs.”
About the artist:
A contributor to National Geographic since 2012, Tomas van Houtryve uses a range of contemporary and early techniques, continually questioning and reinventing his approach to image making. For his previous work, he was awarded the ICP Infinity Award, the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents, and the Roger Pic Award. He has been a member of the VII photo agency since 2010 and is represented by the Baudoin Lebon gallery.
The exhibition was produced by the public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre Dame de Paris’s cathedral in partnership with National Geographic. The photographs are accompanied with graphics by Fernando Gomez Baptista.
The exhibition was announced on CNN. Many of the photos were first published in the Feb. 2022 cover story of National Geographic.
Update 21 September 2023: The exhibition was part of King Charles III official visit to Paris.
TV interview: Notre Dame exhibition on CNN
CNN announced my major exhibition in front of the Notre Dame cathedral with an interview by Jim Bittermann in Paris. The solo exhibition is open from spring 2023 to summer 2024.
Artist Talk at Arts Arena in Paris
Artist talk about photographing the reconstruction of the Notre-Dame cathedral of Paris.
Wednesday, February 15th, 2023 from 19:00 to 22:00
The Arts Arena
Columbia Global Centers, Reid Hall
4 rue de Chevreuse
Paris, 75006
France
Reservations are advised. RSVP to [email protected]
The event will be followed by a cocktail reception.
Panel discussion in Paris with CatchLight and Fondation Carmignac
Panel discussion about documentary photography practices and new visions.
Saturday, 12 November, 2022, 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Réfectoire des Cordeliers
RIVP 15 Rue de l’École de Médecine
75006 Paris
France
Featuring CatchLight Global Fellows Tomas van Houtryve and Aida Muluneh, moderated by Sally Martin Katz of the SFMOMA.
Both Ethiopian artist Aida Muluneh and Paris-based photographer Tomas van Houtryve started their careers as traditional photojournalists to then expand their practices into fine art. Come hear from these artists speak about new approaches in photography for empathy and social change.
Hosted by CatchLight and the Fondation Carmignac.
Free event. Reservations required.
Video: Elgar: Lux aeterna, Collaboration with Thomas Hengelbrock and the Chateau de Fontainebleau
As part of a partnership with the maestro Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar Neumann Choir and Ensemble, I used an aerial drone to film the musicians at the Château de Fontainebleau in France. In February 2021, lockdowns and curfews were imposed as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, leading to the cancelation of public programming at the Château.… read more.
Notre Dame portraits celebrate restoration with vintage photography
National Geographic published my portrait series of the workers involved in the Notre-Dame cathedral of Paris. The article, written by Rob Kunzig, is copied below. View the full feature with additional photographs here. . . . . . Notre Dame portraits celebrate restoration with vintage photography We learned to restore the past at the same time and place that we… read more.