FRENCH PHOTOGRAPHER BORN IN 1991

Photographer and journalist from Roubaix, Charles Thiefaine lives between France and the Middle East where he leads artistic projects such as Iraq – territory, Ala Allah, and more recently Walking with Dragons. His practice is on the border between documentary and point-of-view photography. He discovers and arranges stories that seem evocative to him and tries to propose a singular document around territories marked notably by periods of conflict. Charles Thiefaine collaborates with the French press (M le monde, Libération, Mouvement) and international press (Washington Post, T le temps, Vice). His work is also the subject of exhibitions (Circulation(s), Rencontres du Xème, Copenhagen Photo festival) and a book to be released in 2021 (Tahrir).

DEVELOPED PROJECT: “Z

Charles Thiefaineis a portrait of the inhabitants of Ile de Thau, a working-class district in the north of Sète. By meeting a boxer, an apprentice fisherman and a group of young beach-goers, he has documented a cosmopolitan, mixed-race territory built on water, while introducing the imaginary and creating new narratives. The images in his “Z” series reflect the complexity of a marginalized place, capturing the poetry of its landscapes and people. The series invites the viewer to reflect on life on the water’s edge and the citizenship of the sea.