From January 25 to February 22, 2014, the Parisian gallery Sit Down will exhibit a selection of photographs from Yan Morvan’s series Gangs.

As a reporter for the agency Sipa press from the 1970s to the present day, Yan Morvan photographed young people in the suburbs of Paris: rockers, rappers, punks, dealers, rioters. With Kizo, Morvan turned the photographs into the nefarious book Gangs Story, which led to a costly trial following a complaint by a nasty right-wing extremist.

Sentenced along with his publisher, Morvan found himself in a tight spot last September at the Visa pour l’Image festival. “I didn’t have enough money to put gas in my car to go down to Perpignan, where I was supposed to do a book signing.” The solution. He sold prints of his photographs for 100 euros a piece. “And it worked!”

This experience, born of necessity, encouraged Morvan to repeat the operation for the exhibition currently on display at the Sit Down gallery. In addition to his silver prints on view, he’s selling a series of 297x420mm prints on Hahnemühle “photo rag” paper for 220 euros a piece.

“The idea behind it: art for all! If you don’t have that much money but you like photography, no problem!” says Morvan. “You can buy a print, and if you want to start a collection, you can select six photos for the price of five.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” says Françoise Bornstein, director of the Sit Down gallery. “I know young people who want to start a collection will jump at this opportunity.”

“I want to start a movement, but photographers only think of themselves,” says Morvan. “I called my friends. They only want to sell print for 1500 euros. That’s fine with me, but what about all the photo lovers who don’t have the means? Why deprive them of what they love?”
EXHIBITION
Gangs, Yan Morvan
Galerie Sit Down
4 rue Sainte-Anastase
75003 Paris
Tél : +33 (0)1 42 78 08 07
email : info@sitdown.fr

BOOK
Reporter de guerres de Yan Morvan, Aurélie Taupin – Editions La Martinière, 2012
Gangs Story de Yan Morvan et Kizo – Editions La Manufacture de livres, 2012
http://www.sitdown.fr
http://www.yan-morvan.comDernière révision le 26 mars 2024 à 5;04 par Michel Puech