Behind the gestures that may remind burlesque fans of the great Jacques Tati, Guillaume Martial's photographs defy gravity and instill doubt. It's up to the viewer to ask:
What can I see?
What do I need to see?
What (high-low) meaning does this have?
So could photography be an illusion?
After ten years of competitive ice sports, Guillaume Martial studied film, where he encountered the burlesque genre, which resonated with his body language. In 2009, he worked on the Maison de Jour de Fête, dedicated to the filming of Jacques Tati's film in Sainte-Sévère-sur-Indre.
Inspired by sport, circus and cinema, Guillaume Martial engages his body in a research on space and its appropriation. Between video, photography and performance, with poetry, lightness and humor, he interprets fictional characters in places often constrained by architecture and questions the place of man in his environment.
In 2013, he joined the collective project France(s) Territoire Liquide (francesterritoireliquide.fr), published by Seuil. In 2015, he received the HSBC Prize and published the monograph Slap-Stick with Actes Sud. He participated in numerous exhibitions, including Paysages français, une aventure photographique at the BnF in 2017. His works are part of several public collections, including the Nicéphore Niépce Museum and the Dordogne Departmental Contemporary Art Fund.
