French nationality, I was born in 1959, in Sétif (Algeria). So far my life has been an undirected journey of discovery, you will perceive that I choose to look at the behaviours and the details from which, we should believe that the recurrent violence characteristic of our world can be overwelmed by inspirational, cultural and intellectual resources.
Even though the humdrum aspects of life as shown here don't emulate the spice of stronger news images selectively recording the events devastating our earth, it is nevertheless the essence of human activity, which finally becomes more interesting and instructive when one really takes the time to look at it.
If sometimes polemic about photography becomes annoying, it is equaly evident that the images, which emerge from the constraints of the view finder and the quirky decisions of the manipulator, are systematically reductive and biased. Nonetheless I continue to be fascinated by the curiosity provoked by photography, prompting all involved, both producers and consumers, to sharpen their visual sense, to improve their concentration, to reveal their sensitivity and as a consequence, to simply grow.
The paradox of the photographic tool used to explore the wide world is to reduce it into pieces of film hardly bigger than a postage stamp. Additionally the ambiguity of hiding behind a camera when approaching strangers, makes perfect the self-delusion that we can see and know everything. The photographs taken under the light of these inconsistencies entice me, through my nonsensical reasoning, to answer the question "shall we be able to live together ?"raised by the French sociologist Alain Touraine, in his book "Pourrons nous vivre ensemble?": Yes, it is worth it! Despiste the large production of pictures, strange and perverse mixtures of information, "faction" and "fiction", that would persuade a large part of us to believe the opposite.
Contact: http://www.artsomede.com
Andre Lurde
