Starting out in the daily press, then in magazines, Claudine Doury soon realised that she needed to develop her own projects in addition to her professional and editorial work. Combatting today’s fascination with speed and avoiding the pitfall of superficial snapshots, she mostly engages in lengthy projects in order to approach her subjects with greater depth. For several years, she explored the cultures of the “little people” of Siberia, then chronicled the unlikely holiday camp in Artek, Ukraine. She also developed a sensitive exploration of the peoples of Central Asia through a palette of subtle colours,.
On each of her voyages she created intertwining texts, large books, images and objects, which represent more than anything her fascination for otherness and her determination to explore the world of adolescence.
In her series “Sasha (2007-2010)”, the photographer has managed to capture the passage from young girl to young adult, from childhood to adulthood. Claudine Doury, while doing so, questions the way one’s personality is being built through secret games, intimate rites, scares and adolescents’ dreams.
“My night was more beautiful than day”
wrote Dostoievski in his debut novel.
Tonight isn’t just another night. It is the longest of the year, the Summer Solstice at the end of June.
At such a close range from the arctic circle, as it is in Saint Petersburg, this night appears as a day without end.
Northern people have always celebrated the return of sunlight after months in nearly complete obscurity.
In the Russian countryside, Kupala Night is celebrated. A pagan feast originating from the worship of love and fertility god Kupalo.
In Saint Petersburg, the feasts are of another order. Bachelorette parties, end of the year bashes, we’re treading along the path of the...
“For a long time, I have been interested in girl teenagers’ rites of passage, sacred for the time of a party: Sweet sixteen in USA, Quinceanera in Cuba and new “proms” in Russia…
During this time, my daughter was slowly leaving childhood.
It then appeared to me as obvious to no longer to work on those socially organized rites of passage, but to work on the hidden face of this transition state, on its secret games, its interiority and its silences.
A photographic tale revealed itself: the end of my daughter Sasha’s childhood in which mine is hinted.
In this tale boredom, terror and enchantment are playing and replaying.
“Adolescence is a kingdom of fallen and still falling...
Cherry Shakewell, Gypsie Wood or Sucre d'Orge...these nicknames are as many sweet or spiced promises of what can offer these new queens of strip-tease à la française.
Shows are a mix of humour and sensuality: "it's funny, a tad ridiculous..burlesque in a word!" reckons Mathilde, better known as Miss Glitter PainKiller.
Far from the clichés of the striptease world, burlesque dances do not put any boundaries and all women, whatever their size, can affirm their identities through their body.
In France, this phenomenon is on the rise. Courses have bloomed everywhere with women from every social class, every size, coming to learn how to undress in crazy acts. "Petite, young, skinny,...
The TV series SKINS, launched by Channel 4 in 2007, in which a group of teenagers from Bristol have extreme behaviours - sex, drug, alcohol - quickly had numerous fans among teenagers in England and abroad, and more and more unbridled parties inspired by the series are organized.
Claudine Doury attended several of these parties. The guests, informed via Facebook, are between 16 and 22 and from all social backgrounds. The organization is perfect : house refurbished for the occasion, bouncer at the entrance, changing room. Sexy outfits, unlimited alcohol, ectasy and poppers, the atmosphere is friendly, relaxed.
The guideline, "no limit", is soon applied : kisses are exchanged on the...
When young latino-american girl teenagers turn 15, they wear princess dresses. And if they live in Florida, those “quinceaneras” go to Caribbean for a cruise.
Claudine Doury follows teenage girls natives of Cuba island in their cruise on Caribbean sea. All of them are a part of the Cuban Diaspora established in Florida, and all of them want the “quinceanera” party which made a girl an adult.
On the “Liberty of the seas”, except tourist activities and going around, debutantes get ready to the night: the ball and its evening dresses, its dancing room, and its dinner suits’ partners.
Each young ladies waits impatiently the day of her “Quinceanera”. This event mobilizes the whole family...
This is a story of a slow disappearance, into the sand and in time. The end of a world, a trip through post soviet central Asia and Xinjiang province in China. I had read "Djamila", by the Kyrghyz poet Tchinguiz Aitmatov, and it made me dream of the kolkhozes lost in the steppes and of its peoples : Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs, Karakapalks...
From 2002 to 2005, I managed to travel to the Aral region in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, on the banks of the Issyk Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan and in Xinjiang.
Claudine Doury
"Loulan Beauty" is the story of these peoples from the middle of the world, heirs of sunken kingdoms, of fishermen without a sea, of children who dance to bring back their parents who...
Lost in the middle of Uzbekistan, in the city of Nukus, an extravagant museum is filled with masterpieces of the Russian avant-garde. This patrimony gathered by an art lover, Igor Savitsky, is today endangered, and the director of the museum, Marinika Babanazarova, is struggling alone to save it. In fact, the Ermitage, the big Moscow galleries are trying to "recover" these works, also coveted by corrupted Uzbek politicians.
Every year on March 23, Bolivia commemorates the coastline it once possessed, swearing to regain access to the Pacific. In the meantime, however, its navy is forced to perform its manoeuvres inland, on Lake Titicaca.
According to the tradition of Hispanic families of the USA, Central America and some Latin American countries, the girls’ 15th birthday is celebrated.
I followed this rite of passage to adulthood in Havana.
In opposition to Miami where the quinceaneras usually cost between 7000 and 20000 dollars, in Cuba the families do what they can and usually begin saving money for this event on their daughter’s day of birth ( a Quince in Cuba costs around 1000 euros).
The families who can’t afford to organize a party offer their daughter a photo shoot in a studio.
The minimum for a girl is to have a photo album with different outfits. Anisleis’ mother, very poor, had clothes done and could buy the 7...
From 1996 to 1998, Claudine Doury travelled to Siberia. From the Amur river to the Boreal region, on the footsteps of local minorities, she questionned both their identity and their practice in today’s contemporary world.
4300 km long, the Amur River marks the border between China and Russia. It is at the same time a division and a link between the fishermen and the tradesmen for whom, more than a border, it is a common territory.
“For a long time, I was interested in girl teenagers’ rites of passage, sacred the time of a party: Sweet sixteen in USA, Quinceanera in Cuba and new “proms” in Russia…
During this time, my daughter was slowly leaving childhood.
It appears to me that the obvious was no longer to work on those socially organised rites of passage, but to work on the hidden face of this transition state, on its secret games, its interiority and its silences.
A photographic tale revealed itself: the end of my daughter Sacha’s childhood in which mine is hinted.
In this tale boredom, terror and enchantment are playing and replaying.
“Adolescence is a kingdom of fallen and still falling angels, but it is yet a kingdom”, said James Agee.
Sasha is my own vision from this kingdom’s threshold.”
Claudine Doury Text by: Christian Caujolle et Melanie McWhorter Publisher: Le caillou bleu (2011) 72 pages Size: 30 x 23 cm
Loulan Beauty
Chronique en image d'un voyage en Asie centrale post-soviétique, sur la route du coton, dans les ex-républiques du Kazakhstan, de l'Ouzbékistan, du Karakalpastan et jusqu'en Chine, dans le Xinjiang, pays de la minorité ouïghour. Les photographies de l'auteure témoigne de la vie quotidienne de peuples souvent méconnus, ballotés par l'histoire et qui luttent pour leur avenir. Publisher: Éditions du Chêne (2007) 124 pages Size: 30x22 cm ISBN :2842777409
Misère urbaine : La faim cachée
Photographies : Jane Evelyn Atwood, Claudine Doury, Isabelle Eshraghi, Brigitte Grignet et Laurence Leblanc
Les Gonaïves en Haïti, Naplouse dans les territoires palestiniens, Oulan Bator en Mongolie, Kinshasa en République Démocratique du Congo et Freetown en Sierra Leone, Buenos Aires en Argentine, chaque photographe témoigne de l'inacceptable précarité dans laquelle vivent les populations.Misère urbaine : La faim cachée Text by: Jean-Christophe Rufin, Roland Castro et Jacques Attali Publisher: Au Diable Vauvert (2006) 128 pages ISBN :2846261121
Artek
Créé en 1925 en Crimée, sur les bords de la mer Noire, Artek, le plus célèbre des camps de vacances pour jeunes adolescents, symbolisait la réussite du régime communiste. Depuis l'éclatement de l'URSS, malgré les profondes mutations sociales et politiques, Artek constitue aujourd'hui encore une étape importante dans la vie des jeunes adolescents russes. Chaque année, près de 4 500 enfants séjournent à Artek. L'uniforme a disparu, l'idéologie est plus discrète, mais tout ce qui singularise l'adolescence demeure : instants de solitude, de fragilité, métamorphose du corps, découverte de l'autre, jeu de séduction. Depuis 1993, Claudine s'est rendue à quatre reprises à Artek. Elle pose un regard empreint d'un profond respect et de fascination sur cet âge vulnérable. Text by: Christian Caujolle Publisher: La Martinière (2004) 104 pages Size: 24x26,6 cm
Regards sur le monde : les visages de la faim
À l'occasion de ses vingt-cinq ans d'existence, Action contre la faim a demandé à cinq femmes photographes de partir en reportage à travers le monde pour illustrer le combat quotidien, et jamais achevé, qui est la raison d'être de l'association. Chacune à sa façon - Isabelle Eshraghi en Afghanistan, Brigitte Grignet au Guatemala, Jane Evelyn Atwood au Malawi, Laurence Leblanc en Somalie et Claudine Doury en Mongolie - nous offre un certain regard sur l'un des multiples visages de la faim dans le monde. La confrontation de ces cinq visions de femmes, témoins et artistes, fait de cet ouvrage le reflet de ce projet exceptionnel, à la fois constat et manifeste ; la beauté des photographies révèle, par contraste, l'urgence dans laquelle vivent ces populations. Text by: Jean-Christophe Ruff Publisher: Acropole Belfont (2004) 223 pages Size: 28x27,5 cm ISBN :2735702545
Peuple de Sibérie
La Sibérie évoque d'immenses espaces qui lient, séparent Orient et Occident. Image contrastée d'une terre où la richesse de l'or et des diamants voisine avec l'apocalypse industrielle et le noir souvenir du goulag.
On connaît moins l'existence des vingt-six minorités autochtones dispersées sur le territoire, mosaïque d'identités aujourd'hui menacées. Text by: Jean-Pierre Thibaudat Publisher: Du Seuil (1999) 143 pages Size: 23x18 cm ISBN :2020372258
Chronique d'un été Algérien
Photographies de Claudine Doury, John Vink, Hugues de Wurstemberger et Patrick Zachmann Publisher: Plume (1993) ISBN :2908034824
Artek is an island out of time where a singular form of “liberal communism” has been introduced, where you pay a high price for artificial happiness for children who get to spend a summer both living outside of real time and immersing themselves in a past they never knew and which was planning a perfect world for them.
Sasha is the end of my daughter’s childhood in which mine is hinted. It is my own vision from this kingdom’s threshold. Claudine Doury
From 1996 to 1998, Claudine Doury travelled to Siberia. From the Amur river to the Boreal region, on the footsteps of local minorities, she questionned both their identity and their practice in today’s contemporary world.
« Sasha, qui fut petite fille, a grandi. Sasha devient une jeune fille et se cherche aussi bien dans le miroir que dans le territoire qui fut celui, originel, de sa mère. Un territoire de forêt, de magie et d’images donc, de ces territoires dans lesquels on peut inventer contes et illusions. (...) Un monde aquatique aussi, comme pour une renaissance dont la pureté se parera de robes blanches pour fêtes de contes de fées d’un autre âge. On pourra marcher sur les eaux, en avoir l’illusion au moins, comme l’on rêvait, plus jeune, de voler. On pourra ressortir de l’eau, en compagnie de la copine,...
“For a long time, I have been interested in girl teenagers’ rites of passage, sacred for the time of a party: Sweet sixteen in USA, Quinceanera in Cuba and new “proms” in Russia…\r\rDuring this time, my daughter was slowly leaving childhood.\r\rIt then appeared to me as obvious to no longer to work on those socially organized rites of passage, but to work on the hidden face of this transition state, on its secret games, its interiority and its silences.\r\rA photographic tale revealed itself: the end of my daughter Sasha’s childhood in which mine is hinted.\rIn this tale boredom, terror and...
“For a long time, I have been interested in girl teenagers’ rites of passage, sacred for the time of a party: Sweet sixteen in USA, Quinceanera in Cuba and new “proms” in Russia…\r\rDuring this time, my daughter was slowly leaving childhood.\r\rIt then appeared to me as obvious to no longer to work on those socially organized rites of passage, but to work on the hidden face of this transition state, on its secret games, its interiority and its silences.\r\rA photographic tale revealed itself: the end of my daughter Sasha’s childhood in which mine is hinted.\rIn this tale boredom, terror and...
Avec cette nouvelle série, Claudine Doury a suivi pendant trois ans, le passage de sa fille Sasha de l'enfance à l'age adulte, questionnant la construction de sa personnalité à travers les jeux secrets, les rites intimes, les peurs et les rêves de l'adolescence.\r\r"Sacha, qui fut petite fille, a grandi. Sacha devient une jeune fille et se cherche aussi bien dans le miroir que dans le territoire qui fut celui, originel, de sa mère. Un territoire de forêt, de magie et d'images donc, de ces territoires dans lesquels on peut inventer contes et illusions, croiser des elfes et recouvrir de boue...
This is the story of something slowly disappearing, into sand and time, the end of a world, a journey through post-Soviet Central Asia and the Chinese Xinjiang region. I had read Djamila by the Kirghiz poet Chingiz Aitmatov and I was dreaming about the kolkhozes lost in the steppes and their peoples, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Karakalpaks, etc. From 2002 to 2005, I was able to travel to the Aral region in Kazakhstan, to Uzbekistan, to Xinjiang and to the banks of the Issyk-Koul in Kyrgyzstan. “Loulan beauty” shows these men from the middle of the worlds, heirs to kingdoms which have been...
Loulan Beauty (Breda ) From 2008-09-24 to 2008-10-31
This is the story of something slowly disappearing, into sand and time, the end of a world, a journey through post-Soviet Central Asia and the Chinese Xinjiang region.I had read Djamila by the Kirghiz poet Chingiz Aitmatov and I was dreaming about the kolkhozes lost in the steppes and their peoples, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Karakalpaks, etc.From 2002 to 2005, I was able to travel to the Aral region in Kazakhstan, to Uzbekistan, to Xinjiang and to the banks of the Issyk-Koul in Kyrgyzstan. “Loulan beauty” shows these men from the middle of the worlds, heirs to kingdoms which have been...
2004 Niepce Award 2004 Yann Arthus Bertrand Award 2000 Paris-Match Award 2000 World Press photo Award, «Nature and environment stories» category 1999 Leica Oscar Barnack Award 1997 Fiacre – Ministry of Culture 1996 Villa Médicis hors les murs
Expositions
2008 Loulan Beauty, Breda Photo, Breda’s Museum, Netherlands 2007 Loulan Beauty, Camera Obscura Gallery, Paris 2006 Peuples de Sibérie, Saint-Etienne Library - France 2005 Artek, l’Imagerie-Lannion - France 2005 Peuples de Sibérie, Noisy le Sec Library - France
Parutions
Ouighours en Chine, Géo Italy
Communauté Gay à Nantes, Têtu
Ouighours, Ulysse
Portait Pierre Berger, Snob
Le bal des débutants, Capital
Musée Savitsky, Télérama
Portrait Okrouachvili, Le Monde
Bibliographie
2007 Loulan Beauty, Editions du Chêne 2006 100 photographes pour Handicap International 2006 Histoires de chaussures, Editions Nicolas Chaudun 2006 VU’à Paris, Editions Panini (ouvrage collectif) 2006 Agence VU' -Photo Poche (ouvrage collectif) 2004 Artek, Un été en Crimée, Editions de La Martinière
Corporate
Champion
Christian Lacroix
Flunch
HSBC
Max Havelaar
Orpea
Weston
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