Rihanna, Zinedine Zidane, Ève Salvail, Charlotte Cardin, Nelson Mandela, Joaquin Phoenix, Xavier Dolan, Joni Mitchell, Hubert Lenoir or even a campaign for Lecavalier, the list is as impressive as it is excessive. The approximately 270 photographs of celebrities that currently adorn the walls of the McCord Stewart Museum all have one thing in common: they were taken by Quebecers. The exhibition Portraits and fashion. Photographers from Quebec beyond borders pays tribute to them by highlighting their work, which attracts the biggest fashion magazines on an international scale.
“By digging a little, I realized that Quebec has a fairly extraordinary pool of photographers who we don’t suspect are on the covers of Vogue or one tour book for Mika”, explains the curator of the exhibition, Thierry-Maxime Loriot, notably known for Thierry Mugler. Couturissime. Since no one around him was able to mention even the name of a Quebec photographer, he had the idea of Portraits and fashion.
Monic Richard, for example, is one of seventeen photographers whose work is presented in the exhibition. “She is truly the pioneer in fashion photography in Quebec, she is our local Annie Leibovitz,” says Thierry-Maxime Loriot enthusiastically. In this regard, we learn in the exhibition that Monic Richard took the photograph on the cover of one of the greatest global successes of French-speaking song, the legendary album Two by Celine Dion. “No one knows that it was a woman who photographed a woman,” he notes. And, above all, no one knows that it was a Quebecer who photographed a Quebecer.
Fact, Portraits and fashion is a real surprise. “Even Norman Jean Roy, who has already made a lot of headlines for Vanity Fairas recently with Greta Gerwig and Anne Hathaway, and Vogue, with Nicki Minaj again last month… Nobody knows he comes from Mont-Saint-Hilaire! » raises the commissioner. Thanks to the sample of photographers he has selected, Thierry-Maxime Loriot wants to show that, beyond the commercial aspect, there is real work – whether editorial, portraitist, etc. “The strength of the artists in the exhibition is that they all have something special, a look that cannot be learned from books and a very powerful visual signature,” he says.
Exactly, Alex Black is one of them. After studying marketing at Concordia, the Montrealer decided to turn her passion for photography into her profession. “I’ve taken a few courses here and there, but I don’t have a diploma. I learned a lot on YouTube,” confides this self-taught woman. The one who was approached by US Vogue And Vogue Korea — “probably thanks to my Instagram publications,” she says — and which includes collaborations with Ssence and Document Journal describes a personal trial-and-error practice with an experimental side, where colors, black and white, analog and digital come together. “Montreal, a fairly international city with French in the North American spirit, has enormously influenced my work in terms of reference and aesthetics — very punk and DIY,” explains the artist. Thierry-Maxime Loriot is of the same opinion. “Here, there is exceptional creativity which lets photographers explore different spaces without being restricted, unlike in Paris or New York where everything is categorized,” he believes.
At the crossroads
“Of course, when we talk about fashion photography, you have to sell a product, but you also have to create a universe around it and find a visual language that tells the story of a brand,” notes Alex Black , now based in Paris. It is therefore from keywords that the photographer begins her creative process. “I then have images that come to mind so I can communicate visually. » The result can hardly fail to challenge the viewer, as evidenced by the ultra-sleek photographs chosen for Portraits and fashion.
According to her, a good fashion photo is thus able to sell and attract attention, to stand out from the crowd and, particularly, to get out of the fashion context. “For me, there are really artistic elements that come into play,” she believes. And to continue: “There is the side business fashion, for sure, but it remains an artistic expression. » Sometimes, she who admits to having always been fascinated by fashion and clothes, which allow her to reinvent herself, feels like a tool for the client. “But sometimes, I’m also given a lot of space to create,” she likes to say.
Portraits and fashion is, ultimately, a celebration where Quebec society is invited to recognize its talents and its cultural heritage. “We want to show that it is possible to have your own style and a career beyond borders, hence the title of the exhibition,” underlines the curator. And encourage the younger generation to continue their work. “Quebec fashion photography is a wealth that people underestimate, because people can only identify with what they know,” concludes Thierry-Maxime Loriot.