Victor Cambet and Mathilde Vanmansart, our readers picks #281 are both guided by their curiosity. The first seeks out the unexpected in the streets, and the other embarks on entertaining journeys.
Victor Cambet
Trained as a graphic designer, Victor Cambet, 24, took an interest in photography when he was studying art history. “Joey Meyerowitz and Saul Leiter’s aesthetics would inspired me a lot, they pushed me to learn more about street photography. When I moved to Montreal I really dove into the medium: I bought a camera and started to get lost in the city’s streets, to learn my way around it”, he tells us. In this urban maze, the artist captures human fragments – both subtle and ephemeral. Isolating his subjects, he likes to play with the emotions they bring out. “Nowadays, the perfect physique is codified, and producing street portraits is my way of showing true beauty – the one we come across every day without noticing”, he adds. Carried by the metropolitan frenzy, Victor Cambet observe his environment, looking for graphic gems – whether in his home country or elsewhere. “During my trip to Japan, I shot a precious moment, as I encountered Geishas in Kyoto’s streets”, he says. A splendid “unpredictable collection of life times”.
© Victor Cambet
Mathilde Vanmansart
“I am a 40 something, sort of indoorsy woman, who can’t help heading head first into strange adventures around the world – out of pure curiosity”
, says Mathilde Vanmansart. After working as a programmer for exhibition spaces for visual arts, the photographer trained at the Gobelins, where she developed a taste for the unknown. In 2019, she embarked on a 400-meter ship, able to transport 24,000 containers, on a 6-week trip, alongside sailors. “This universe tickled my imagination. The mega container-ships are like monsters illustrating the power of globalisation, and yet they remain fragile giants, relying on meteorological, political, economic or even sanitary conditions – with Coronavirus, for example – and I wanted to question this paradox”, she explains. Using minimalist imagery, the artist illustrated the daily life of see workers, isolated inside these colossal constructions. “I was surprised by their loneliness and sweetness: I had pictured a macho universe smelling like motor oil, and I’ve actually discovered a delicate quality in their attentions – for the flowers pots or the birds onboard”, she adds. A photogenique, yet mysterious world.
© Mathilde Vanmansart
Cover picture: © Mathilde Vanmansart
