Toy Stories is a new exhibition by the UK-based
photographer Etienne Clément. Staged in empty, derelict
buildings, the subjects of these unconventional large-scale,
colour portraits are tiny, second-hand figurines which would
have at one time represented some kind of imaginary ideal
to
a young owner.
Clément has always been drawn to forbidden, empty
places. As a child, these unknown, unsafe territories were
his playground offering an endless supply
of stories to feed
his avid curiosity. Previous series of works have focused
on the memory of human habitation within these spaces - the
traces of departed dwellers found on wall surfaces and fixtures.
By photographing children's figurines in such environments,
and by combining both portraiture and architecture, he is
staging untold stories.
Reversing the conventional studio portrait format where
the real-life subject is placed against an idealised, fake
background, in Toy Stories Clément has used all-too-real,
troubled environments as the backdrop for these mass-produced
figures. Now abandoned and cast off, their physical flaws
are revealed close up. Here they look like products of their
neglected environment, emerging from dark doorway sets like
a travelling troupe of forgotten film characters, each apparently
making a new bid for stardom: poorly painted geisha girls,
blue cowboys and red Indians, a one-armed astronaut and a
selection of mad, staring dolls. The effect is darkly comic
and occasionally disturbing.
"Unlike many photographers, Clément doesn't
appear to be interested in making his subject matter look
beautiful. Instead his shots are honest and for that reason,
unexpected."
Grant Gibson, Blueprint, on the exhibition 'Gutted' at the Geffrye Museum,
London.
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