Clément Chapillon
About Clément Chapillon
Clément Chapillon (FR, 1982) is a French photographer who is based in the south of France. He graduated in photography from Les Gobelins, art school in Paris.
His way of telling stories and getting to the heart of his subjects makes him a complete contemporary documentary photographer. Indeed, he doesn't just take pictures of a given territory, he creates a common thread that envelops us and takes us with him on a journey.
As well as his own photography practise, he is also the co-founder of a documentary production studio called “Unforeseen” located at Carré Bisson in the Belleville district of Paris.
Photographic approach of Clément Chapillon
Clément Chapillon's photographic approach revolves around the question of territories, their exploration, but also their inhabitants and the links that unite them through a singular and personal style akin to "poetic realism".
Evolving from landscaped ensemble shots to portraits and close-ups focusing on textures, he manages to create visual worlds where all comes together.
One of the most noteworthy aspects of his work is the fact that he is capable of not only exploring spaces and times physically, but he is also exanimating and experimenting new facets of apprehending them. He takes a fresh, an unpretentious look at things in order to get as close as possible to what he sees.
Exhibitions and Awards
Whether in festivals or in galleries, Clément Chapillon's work has already been the subject of several exhibitions in France, notably in Paris (Festival Circulations, Leica Galerie, Polka Galerie), in the south of France in places such as La Maison de la Photographie in Toulon or in Piece a part in Marseille but also in Europe and more, for example at Hangar in Brussels, in Georgia (Tbilissi Photo Festival) or in India (Kitab Festival).
His work has been honoured by several awards and prizes, among them we can notice the Leica Prize in Arles in 2017 or more recently the Photography Prize of the Fondation des Treilles where he participated in a 3-months-artist-residency.
Art Book Publications by Clément Chapillon
He had already published two books and is still counting. With his first one “Promise me a land”, a personal testimony looks at the Israel-Palestine fresco, where he investigates the different dimensions of this apparently unalterable relationship. He interviewed and photographed people in towns, villages and settlements. This book highlights the intimate bond between the people and the land.
“Les Rochers Fauves”, his latest one published by Dunes Editions, takes place in Amorgos the easternmost island of the Cyclades archipelago, where Chapillon returned every year since he first went about fifteen years ago. With his medium format analogue camera, he questions the notion of insularity and isolation which are represented by working on the contradictory feelings related to them. This series was named in tribute to the publication of “La Grèce d’aujourd’hui” by the French archaeologist and writer Gaston Deschamps.
Alongside his photo books, the series of Clément Chapillon have been published in numerous magazines such as the New York Times, the British Journal of Photography and Fisheye, to name a few.