Beyond the work of recording an exceptional episode in the adventure of the Centre Pompidou-Metz, this photographic commission contrasts the singular vision of photographers from different backgrounds. Each paced out this territory that was in a state of mutation, observed its actors and explored its purlieus. Through the quest for the decisive moment, the questioning of the notion of landscape and the formal investigation of the structural dimension, the viewer is confronted with subjective readings – that are hailed as such – of the site and its environment. The first "compilation" of these views was presented in October 2009, during the "Constellation" event in the exhibition entitled ‘Fables du lieu. Regards croisés sur le chantier du Centre Pompidou-Metz’ which was displayed in the exhibition gallery of the Arsenal concert hall in Metz.
Philippe Chancel was born in Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1959. He lives and works in Paris.
Referring to the position taken by the architect Shigeru Ban who, at each end of the galleries, created "picture windows" that frame life, the photographer chose to approach the Centre Pompidou-Metz using the panoramic format.
www. philippechancel.com
Nicolas Dhervillers was born in Massy in 1981. He lives and works in Paris.
Having installed his studio in a vacant room in the museum in Paris, he asked visitors to play the role of the future public of the Centre Pompidou-Metz. His montages are similar to 3D simulations of architectural projects presenting a mental and temporal projection.
www.nicolasdhervillers.com
Franck Gérard was born in Poitiers in 1972. He lives and works in Nantes.
He chose to take an inventory of the place, by proceeding in concentric circles around the Centre Pompidou-Metz, thus capturing the actors of the building site, detached pieces and refuse gleaned from the site, chance arrangements of objects, street scenes and anodyne moments.
www.franckgerard.eu
Nicolas Pinier was born in Lyon in 1969. He lives and works in Metz.
Nicolas Pinier posed in the construction space, embodying the jobs to be found in the future Centre Pompidou-Metz (artist, museum guard, gardener, etc.). He thus composed a gallery of portraits inspired by modern works of art.
www.nicolaspinier.fr
Simone Decker was born in 1968 in Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg). She lives and works in Frankfurt.
Accustomed to games of scale and perspective giving rise to an alternative vision of famous places, Simone Decker "sows doubt" (Michel Gauthier, Le temps des fantômes, 2004.) on the building site of the Centre Pompidou-Metz. It is as if the site had taken another direction, the building takes on other forms, with extra floors, etc.
www.simonedecker.com
