From urban words to exquisite corpses
[TIL #34] and a splendid consequence of counting the days
Welcome to a new edition of the Tales of Ink and Light. In this one, you will find thoughts on photo walks, unexpected images, and a glimpse of a diary (not mine) that combines pictures with texts.
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Words in the City
There is a paradox inherent to a group photo walk because it consists in bringing together people who have in common a practice that is often solitary. Photographers frequently find themselves isolated in their own mind when they’re making pictures, misunderstood and left behind by the rest of the world (including their loved ones). But when they get together, the eagerness to socialise with peers gets in the way of putting the camera to work. The paradoxical peak occurs when a group of photographers becomes impatient with the one who is totally engaged in the making of an image and delays the whole gang.
‘You cannot make a good picture on a group photo walk’ (said an attendee while the group was sharing drinks and laughs after a walk — i see the point and yet i tend to disagree.)
Yet, photo walks are fun for at least three reasons: photography, walking (‘solvitur ambulando’, you know1) and the company of folks with a common passion. When i’m guiding one, i like to suggest a theme: it gives the ‘photo-walkers’ something to look for with their camera and makes it easier to put together a (relatively) consistent collective collection of images afterwards. Setting participants on the same quest also brings them somewhat closer.
‘Words in the City’ is the theme for a series of photo walks in Lisbon over the summer: an invitation to include words (graffiti, advertising, road signs, etc) in images, so that the words become part of the story. Come September, a selection of images will provide the material for a zine or an ebook. Participants in the walks will be invited to submit a story consisting of one to maximum five images that include words found in the urban scenery.
Another manner to present a selection of images will be ‘exquisite corpses’ — this is not about venturing into forensic photography, but a creative game invented by the French surrealists back in their days: le cadavre exquis (which translates literally as the exquisite corpse) is ‘a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence (…) by being allowed to see only the end of what the previous person contributed’ (Wikipedia).
In the Words in the City ‘cadavre exquis’, each participant will in turn contribute one photograph to a series, having only seen the previous picture. At present, i am impatiently curious to see how it will turn out.
With this image made during one of the Words in the City walks, i was interested in the juxtaposition of the name of the street (‘rua das pretas’ translates as ‘street of the black women’) with the black model on the fashion advertising poster. I suspected that the name of the street might date back to a colonial epoch and be loaded with racism. It is not as blatant as i thought. After a little bit of research, it seems that the origin of the name of the street remains uncertain: it may date back to the 17th century and may be a reference to a group of black women who ran housing for foreigners there. Still, i believe that the image works in terms of asking questions. What do you think?
just around the corner
Sometimes, though, it may be good not to know what you’re looking for… On a reconnaissance trip for a potential photo walk, the itinerary designed on the map turned out to be fairly monotonous — until a certain corner. And suddenly, the light was a party.
the days are numbered
I had much enjoyed Lisboa Clichê, both as an exhibition and as a book. In addition to learning about the city where i was a new resident, i felt powerful emotions linked to the passing of time and the contemplation thereof. Photos and texts were combined in a highly effective flow which left a lasting impression. I was thus very impatient to discover the new exhibition of the Portuguese photographer and artist Daniel Blaufuks at the MAAT (the museum of art, architecture and technology).
As i’ve begun to explore in a previous post, the association of images and texts is a topic of great interest to me.
os dias estão numerados (the days are numbered) once again combines words and images. It is a diary in which, each day, the artist pastes one or two photographs (they are polaroid), clippings and words on a numbered A4 page.
The short sentences sometimes refer to current events (the rise of the far right in elections, for instance) or carry a political tone, some are thoughts on photography or art, some are heavy with the emotion of a personal moment, and others are simply poetic. The photographs often show the recurring motif of light falling on a table through a window (variations of the same image are frequent on the artist’s Instagram).
Each in their own specific way (in their own language), the texts and the images complement each other to compose the account of a given day. This works beautifully. The pages of the diary reveal a human being confronted to the passing of time, events of the personal and public spheres, emotions, humour, and a resolute attempt at making sense of it all. I found it deeply inspirational and spent quite a lot of time in the wide room where it was shown — this, i also thought, would be of interest to my readers, so i’m showing phone images of just a few of the 450 pages that are on show at the exhibition.
And inevitably …
A suggestion
I’ve much enjoyed listening to this conversation between Sacha Wolf and Todd Hido about the latter’s latest book and recent exhibition. While you listen the podcast, do check the images on the webpage of the show or on the website of the gallery.
the drama on the stage within
My little book the drama on the stage within is available on amaz0n.
It is a collection of dialogues between photographs and short free-form texts. Each dialogue conveys musings on the way our lives are governed by the stories we are told and the tales we tell. When words and pictures are brought together, it often happens that one controls the other (a caption dictates the meaning of the image) or that one comes first (an image inspires a poem). It is not the case here: neither are texts an explanation of the image and nor are photographs simple illustrations.
Having each travelled their own path into existence, they meet on the page and respond to each other: the words influence the reading of the photograph, the image in turn affects the meaning of the text. With each pairing, you are invited into a conversation that pokes gentle fun at the weirdness of us human beings.
You can find out more about this project here or in this previous post:
If you get a copy (an excellent way to support my work), please leave a review: it is really helpful.
Thank you for taking part in the Tales of Ink and Light. It’s good to have you on board.
Solvitur ambulando means: it gets solved by walking. I’ve read a few good pieces here on Substack that elaborated on that latin saying. At the moment, I can only find the link to this one by Xavi Buendia:
What a read Pierre François! Funny enough, I'm writing about a group photo walk this weekend and how narrative is everything even when we think we have nothing.
I'm obsessed now with the work of Daniel Blaufuks, thanks for sharing and appreciate the mention in your recommendations!!
Love Lisbon! Walked day and night when we were there a year ago; photos everywhere, just waiting to be handpicked. You've gotten some nice ones. Love the one with the young woman followed by her shadow.