statement
Since 25 years, Jean-Philippe Krief, pioneer of photovoltaic engineering and photographer, travels the world.
He received his love of photography and his taste for argentic images from his father. A precious legacy that he has never ceased to renew during his travels, about which he reports, in his “photographic notebooks”. A corpus of black and white clichés as close as possible to his moods, which is presenting the sociology of our contemporary world.
Krief likes to say that “the sensuality of the subject and his visual treatment – constitute the basement of his photographic work”. Evidenced by the material of his images, granular, almost tactile, which is the result of a specific technical choice: the use of a highly sensitive film (the 3200 from Ilford) allows him to photograph his subjects without flash or artificial lighting, taking advantage of the plastic and emotional possibilities of so-called “natural” light.
His erratic gaze explores the world, portrays men with a special attention to the passage of time, and the visible traces that it leaves on bodies, sets and faces. The inert material, the everyday object or the urban architecture, less present than the human figure, are nevertheless treated with the same sensitivity.
In Krief’s work, the agitation of bodies is rare. The photographer is interested rather in figuring rest, appeasement, relaxation, even stasis. Paradoxically, this is how he captures the movement of men and societies. His sense of documentary observation as well as quasi-pictorial composition also makes the singularity of his images.
statement
Since 25 years, Jean-Philippe Krief, pioneer of photovoltaic engineering and photographer, travels the world.
He received his love of photography and his taste for argentic images from his father. A precious legacy that he has never ceased to renew during his travels, about which he reports, in his “photographic notebooks”. A corpus of black and white clichés as close as possible to his moods, which is presenting the sociology of our contemporary world.
beach side
From the first hydrotherapy baths of the nineteenth century, where we sat on the beach looking ahead, motionless in front of the ocean, until the crazy years where jerseys began to swim, the beach became a tradition where people do not hesitate, walking semi-naked along the seashore in summer.
carmel market
One of the main characteristics of Eastern countries lies in its markets: social and exchange place par excellence. Of all the markets visited by the artist, from Cairo to Beirut, the Carmel market in Tel Aviv has something special. There are only tough men, many with sharp faces, coming from distant lands: Lithuania, Tunisia, Ukraine.
subway line 2
Line 2 of the Paris metro is an east-west line crossing the capital. From the popular neighborhoods of the old manufactories, going through Indian and arabic neighborhoods, then continues its way through night dancing cabarets and , to complete its route in the chic Haussmann neighborhoods of the 17th.
carignan dignity
The life of African-Americans is one of Krief’s favorite themes. For twenty years, he has been observing their relationship to religions, music and sports, and admiring their self cultural apprenticeship.
indian windows
Day and night, during his many trips to India, Krief surveys the railway stations. Struck by these barred windows and by the way the passengers “live” cars for trips of several days, he captures moments of waiting.