The Unbelievable Truth is the title of a film by Al Hartley. This title inspired this collection of photos, taken from 2012 until today, mainly in the vicinity of Nantes and on the French west coast.
Each photo in this series captures a piece of space and time without any artifice or staging. They show, in a sense, only the strict truth. However, something that goes beyond reality emerges, an almost dreamlike atmosphere. The notion of truth is all relative in photography.
The most objective photo will always have an element of lies. On the one hand because it freezes time, it will never be more than a fraction of a second of reality. On the other hand because it only captures part of the scene, the framing excluding surrounding elements. The photos in this series are never premeditated, they were taken in places through which I had to pass. My approach is documentary, it is important for me to describe a place at a given moment, but that is not a sufficient condition, it is perhaps only the alibi. The real motivation is to reveal the atmosphere of the scene. By a precise framing, at a time when the light lends itself to it, these photos captured in my daily life try to transcend banality.
The Unbelievable Truth est le titre d’un film de Al Hartley. Ce titre a inspiré ce rassemblement de photos, prises depuis 2012 jusqu’à aujourd’hui, principalement dans les environs de Nantes et sur la côte ouest française.
Chaque photo de cette série capture un morceau d’espace et de temps sans aucun artifice, ni mise en scène. Elles ne montrent, en un sens, que la stricte vérité. Il s’en dégage pourtant quelque chose qui dépasse le réel, une atmosphère presque onirique. La notion de vérité est toute relative en photographie.
La photo la plus objective aura toujours une part de mensonge. D’une part parce qu’elle fige le temps, elle ne sera jamais qu’une portion de seconde de la réalité. D’autre part parce qu’elle ne capture qu’une partie de la scène, le cadrage excluant des éléments environnants. Les photos de cette série ne sont jamais préméditées, elles ont été prises dans des lieux par lesquels j’étais amené à passer. Mon approche est documentaire, il m’importe de décrire un lieu à un moment donné, mais cela n’est pas une condition suffisante, ce n’est peut-être que l’alibi. La vraie motivation est de révéler l’atmosphère que dégage la scène. Par un cadrage précis, à un moment où la lumière s’y prête, ces photos capturées dans mon quotidien tentent de transcender la banalité.
Photographer Benoît Chailleux grew up in the suburbs of Nantes, France. He studied architecture from 1992 to 2000. He uses photography as an analytical tool and means to explore urban environments. Of particular interest to Chailleux are the undeveloped, often overlooked spaces found at the junction of urban sprawl and society’s transportation infrastructure. The majority of his subjects are banal locations residing at the intersections of roads and interstates. Some of these areas may even be termed wastelands. His photography is concerned more with illustrating the atmosphere of neglected environs, and less in depicting the aberrations of contemporary urban planning. His sensibilities are focused on the ordinary rather than the spectacular.
© Text and pictures by Benoît Chailleux
