On the 10th anniversary of her tragic death at the age of 46, Jane Birkin's eldest daughter is the subject of a retrospective showcasing the diversity of her still largely unknown work, from her portraits and fashion photographs to her landscapes and other unconventional photographs. A world of fragility and poetry that cannot fail to move the viewer.

“[…] she sweeps away poses and worn-out reflexes […] she wipes the slate clean of gimmicks, she erases caricature. It’s Vanessa stripped of hair and style, it’s Laetitia’s gaze, the forgotten body… It’s Emmanuelle’s doubt. […] KB revealed to us all what we had hidden from ourselves, never settling for anything but the absolute.” Here, in a few strokes, is an eloquent portrait of Kate Barry painted by her half-sister Lou Doillon. We sense the sensitive and demanding eye, on the lookout for authenticity, of a photographer who cast a unique gaze upon the world.

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

These self-portraits reveal the same propensity for simplicity found in all his works, whether it be his fashion photographs, such as the mother-daughter campaign for Comptoir des Cotonniers from 2003-2006, or his "Gueules de Rungis" series created for the 40th anniversary of the famous Les Halles market in 2009, or especially his landscapes – the most personal and accomplished aspect of his work, and also the most original. Marginal or abandoned places, the photographed locations are imbued with melancholy. " notes Sylvain Besson. And he adds: Kate Barry creates a delicate, fragile body of work that provokes introspection. Those close to her refer to her landscapes as her "true" photographic work, the closest to her personality, the one where her anxieties and silences are best expressed. »

How can one not be deeply moved, knowing of his painful existence and the tragic circumstances of his disappearance, by this plunge down a steep staircase onto a deserted beach, by this section of concrete wall and this tree lost in the middle of a desert, or by this obscured landscape showing the improbable confrontation between the facade of a social housing block and a rock face reflected on wet ground?…
1 Pierre Lescure on the show “C à vous” on September 4, 2023 broadcast on France 5, on “ The profound photos of Kate Barry ».

“KATE BARRY. MY OWN SPACE »
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