Galerie 208 exhibits the photographs of Léo Caillard at the gates of the Jardin Public from May 3rd to 22nd, 2023, in partnership with the city of Bordeaux. This exhibition is part of the Entre’vues itinerary.
Through his so-called “Neo Antique” works, Léo Caillard revisits the aesthetic canon of classical beauty and ignores the nude to present photographs and images of ancient statues, known from the classical and Hellenistic repertoire, dressed in contemporary fashion.
Like a second “neo-classicism”, an important movement for Bordeaux architecture, the work of Léo Caillard is part of the European artistic tradition while revisiting its codes.
Combining classicism and modernity, the aesthetics of the city of Bordeaux enters into communion with the artist’s intentions. Although playing on the anachronism, the story blends with modernity and creates an alchemy.
HIPSTERS IN STONE
No offense to the quotes, it is clear that the habit makes the monk. Indeed, whether simple or sophisticated, the perception of an individual depends largely on their dressing style.
Revealing the narrative force of self-representation through the irony of anachronism was probably the bias of this series.
Dressed in the colors and materials of the 21st century, these mythical and iconic statues almost lose their Latin… Posing in front of the lens as current models would do, these frozen statues seem to come alive and become more human. Would the intervention of the habit have desacralized the stone? Of course not, all their iconic strength is nonetheless present.
These statues say a lot about pageantry and continue to question the eternal status (no pun intended) of icon in our societies. Our clothing habits today on the stone of the Agora to better sublimate it and question our present through our past.
The Greco-Roman civilization, at the origin of our culture and philosophical thought, is imbued with myths and stories retracing the major themes of human conditions through metaphors and epics.
In this sense, the icons represented by the statues of this period are imprinted with all the depth of our origins and our foundations.
Through this series, Léo Caillard seeks to restore their full presence and put them back at the center of the debate. Draw attention to them through clothing to better highlight them and relearn how to look at them.