Opening up the world with Clara Montrieul

Clara Montrieul was born in Nogent-sur-Marne in 1994; she lives and works in Paris. A graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven (2018) and the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie (2023), her work explores the theme of the relationship between the living and the culturally constructed.

Host structure: Centre médico-psychologique de Vence
The project: What roles do the imaginary, beliefs and representations play in the construction of a sensitivitý to other forms of life and to the landscape? Working on the “endemic” imaginary, Clara Montrieul explores the legends and stories of the territories she traverses. With young people from the Vençois region, she encourages them to “actively” look at the landscape, on the lookout for details, peculiarities and oddities that feed the imagination. Subsequently, drawing on rhodoid (a photograph printed on transparent paper in shades of grey) encourages them to reinvent the colors of a landscape, setting it in scene and making it surreal.

During the residency, a tailor-made tool was created: a portable mini studio. Constructed in a vanity case, it contains all the rudiments of a photo studio (draped background, platform, lights), enabling small-scale stagings using objects to be created quickly and anywhere.
During an open-air workshop inspired by the “Leaves of Grass” series by Chinese photographer Adou, Clara Montrieul proposed a work of interpretation, ecofact collection and composition prior to a photo shoot. Participants were introduced to the anthotype process, an image created using plant juices as a photosensitive solution.
These times of “photographic recreation” during the creative process incorporate moments of play into the practice.

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