Stephan Gladieu THROUGH THEIR EYES

The thought-provoking and illuminative exhibition features the iconic humanistic portraits by international award-winning French photographer, Stephan Gladieu.In his extensive series of works, Gladieu’s social documentary photography addresses cultural, social, and political narratives of the present time. Whether in Afghanistan, Namibia, Benin, Congo, or North Korea—and as diverse as the geographic locations and social characteristics of his subjects are—epochal and distinctive is the way Gladieu captures and visualizes global issues. Illustrative of Gladieu’s attraction to substantial facets of human coexistence, THROUGH THEIR EYES presents three of Gladieu’s most extensive recent projects. Central within Gladieu's oeuvre is his award-winning portrait series, NORTH KOREA. Gladieu traveled to the dictatorially-governed country, which is predominantly sealed off from the rest of the world, in order to engage intensively with the state—but even more so with its population. His portraits, seemingly almost staged and unreal, comment impressively and yet rather humorously on the country shaped by state propaganda and the government’s image of self as projected to the world.

In his extensive series of works, Gladieu’s social documentary photography addresses cultural, social, and political narratives of the present time.  Whether in Afghanistan, Namibia, Benin, Congo, or North Korea—and as diverse as the geographic locations and social characteristics of his subjects are—epochal and distinctive is the way Gladieu captures and visualizes global issues.  Illustrative of Gladieu’s attraction to substantial facets of human coexistence, THROUGH THEIR EYES presents three of Gladieu’s most extensive recent projects.

Central within Gladieu’s oeuvre is his award-winning portrait series, NORTH KOREA, for which he traveled to the dictatorially-governed country that is predominantly sealed off from the rest of the world, in order to engage intensively with the state—but even more so with its population.  His portraits, seemingly almost staged and unreal, comment impressively and yet rather humorously on the country shaped by state propaganda and the government’s image of self as projected to the world.

Similarly, Gladieu’s EGUNGUN series provides insights into another closed-off society.  In 2018, Gladieu traveled to Benin, West Africa, into the land of the Yoruba where he photographed the mystical rituals of the EGUN and their ghostly ritual masks.

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