Opening up the world with Clémence Elman and Léonard Contramestre

Clémence Elman, born in 1992, lives and works in Arles. After graduating in political science from the IEP in Toulouse, she entered the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie (ENSP) in Arles, graduating in 2020. In 2022, she was exhibited as part of 100% L’EXPO – Sorties d’Écoles at La Villette, and in the same year completed a residency as part of the Rencontres de la jeune photographie internationale at the Villa Pérochon in Niort. She also received the Prix Sud Emergence for the short film co-directed Tornerò and the Eurazeo 2022 grant.

Léonard Contramestre, born in 1996, lives and works in Arles. After a DNA at the École Supérieure d’Arts d’Annecy (ESAAA), where he developed a primarily photographic, video and installation practice. He graduated from ENSP in 2022. In 2022, he co-directed the film Tornerò, first shown at the Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles, then at the OVNI festival in Nice, where it won the Prix Sud Émergence 2022. In this context, he is invited to take up a residency in Nice in March 2023.

Hosted by: Maison d’arrêt de Grasse
The project: The relationship between fiction and reality, the closed-door space and the construction of a different space, the absurd: using photo and video, the inmates of the Maison d’arrêt de Grasse, alongside the artists involved, slip into the shoes of fictional characters.The premise: a waiting room. What happens there? From scripting to shooting, storyboarding and character development, participants and artists collectively create each stage of a fictional story.

Rouvrir le monde – Un été culturel, a DRAC PACA initiative.