The secret life of hay bales
Exhibition from 1st December 2023 to 18 January 2024
Wednesday to Saturday 14.30 à 19h and by appointment
I'm delighted to be working with my friend Alexandre Pain on Jacques Meunier's first solo exhibition. What a surprise it was to discover, thanks to Jacques, that even straw bales can have a private life... And what was that, I wondered?
When I saw this series, I discovered abstractions and then, to my great astonishment, the photographer's offbeat, chiselled framing revealed an unheard-of, unexpected sensuality.
If you happen to come across a group of bundles on your country walks, you'll be convinced that beauty, emotion, desire and love are all to be found in the meadow!
Émilie Dujat
This project was born in Sweden, late one afternoon.
Along a country road, I slammed on the brakes and got out of the car to immortalise, on the sly, in a close-up, the light of the setting sun on bales of straw wrapped in white plastic. A few vertical lines recall the caresses of ancient rains....
My view of these bales will never be the same. During my successive encounters with different communities of plastic bales, I got to know them and tame them. As our meetings progressed, a mutual trust developed. At first, I was allowed to photograph them in groups, in "family" or "class photo" mode.
Then, little by little, I was able to enter the intimacy of their private lives...
Jacques Meunier