We talk to photographer, Clement Jolin, about his homage to Cannes
Commissioned as part of the prestigious Portraits de Ville series, Clement Jolin's mesmerising photographic homage to Cannes was compiled over two years at the city's annual festival. Seeping with nostalgic nuances, his love letter to the French Riviera evokes a by-gone era of F. Scott Fitzgerald glamour. Here, Jolin introduces us to his idyllic world.
What inspired you to embark on the Cannes series?
I had been living in LA for 10 years and was contacted by an American photographer who was shooting editorials in Cannes during the Film Festival, and they needed assistants. I am from the South of France, so I was the ideal choice to help them.
"I wanted to give back to Cannes what it once was – a gem full of colour" — Clement Jolin
While all that was happening, I happened upon one of the books, Portrait de Ville. Be-Pole, the creative agency in Paris, had been creating these books for the last few years; hand-picking one photographer, assigning them with a city and then giving the photographer “carte blanche” to do whatever they wished. After a year of being in touch, Be-Pole had an idea to do a project on the French Riviera. Three books: Cannes, Nice, Monaco. The director, Antoine Ricardou, asked me if I would shoot Cannes for them.
What is it about Cannes that interests you?
The light, the reminiscence of the glamorous years and its location, which is challenging to photograph since it is very small.
Did you have any key references in mind when capturing the series?
I do not like to look at too much stuff before starting a project like that one. Rather, I create my own world from what I see and feel when walking around the town.
What do you hope people will take away from the series?
To give back to Cannes what it once was – a gem full of colour!
The colour in your photographs is really beautiful. Is this one of your key interests as a photographer?
Colour is one of the key components in photography, alongside so many others elements. Colour gives texture to a photo. I love to manipulate colours by obstructing the lens with different objects to enhance the images. Yes, enhancing colour tonality through the lens has definitely been part of my way of working and is one of my signatures.
What's your favourite subject to photograph?
People and landscapes are my two best-loved things to photograph. People are like landscapes; they are all so different.
Tell us about your journey into photography...
I went the other way around than most people. I first studied film, and then went to study Photography at Art Center Pasadena California. I had Paul Jasmin as my fashion Teacher (of Andy Warhol's Factory) and Roland Young (of the Alexey Brodovitch studio). They were my two heroes, and taught me an amazing way of seeing the world of creativity.
Cannes by Clement Jolin is out now.
