Jérôme Brézillon is a man who sees and embraces the world, men, or trees lost in hilly landscapes… a photographer who makes you want to be somewhere else. After his black and white images of Sarajevo (1992-1996) and Northern Ireland (1997), he spent the 2000s on a long exploration of the North American continent, in colour, with a 4x5 view camera. There, he shot beyond the myth: with Huntsville and Executioners, he painted a grim yet nuanced portrait of Texas’ death-row and executioners. Next came Souverains, a series born from his encounter with the Lakota Indians of South Dakota. Brézillon juxtaposed portraits and vast expanses: his images of these men and women, always standing, seem to hand them back ownership of a land they consider theirs. With Train, he offered images blurred by speed and misted by rain. This is the America of the great outdoors, but the California sun is not there to shine upon the stuff of dreams. Symbols of the Myth - cars and roads criss-crossing the landscape - are indeed present in the photographer’s work, but again, he succeeds in avoiding the pitfalls of folklore.

Portrait : Mathieu Sapin