EVE SONNEMAN
Nohra Haime Gallery 41 East 57th Street NY 10022 New York États-Unis
EVE SONNEMAN: LA COTE D'AZUR, an intriguing exhibition including a series of thirteen diptych color photographs will be on view at the Nohra Haime Gallery from October 7 through November 7. In her most recent body of work, Sonneman turns her lens towards the South of France. As she presents the viewer with sequence shots of people engaged in leisure activities, the artist explores the notion of the landscape as witness to the passage of time.
Keeping with her signature style, first exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1971, Sonneman captures two slightly different pictures of the same scene taken seconds apart, and presents them side-by-side. By doing so, the artist reveals the tiny moments of gesture and innuendos that occur in very small intervals between the opening and closing of the shutter.
Her method results in stunning, poetic, and sophisticated pairings. In La Plage du Carlton a Cannes, 2007, Picture No. 1 tells the story of three vacationers at the beach; the woman on the left is lying down on a chaise lounge while she suntans, and the woman on the right is shown sitting and appears to be putting on her t-shirt; a man next to her seems to be in the process of standing up; a boat appears in the distance. In Picture No. 2, the woman on the left reaches out to grab a chilled drink, while the woman on the right, who now appears shirtless, talks to the man, who now sits. This time the photographer has stepped nearer to the scene. When taking up a close look, the viewer suddenly realizes that the chronological order of the events has been inverted - perhaps in a mocking or playful attempt. The only detail hinting the order of the sequence is the advanced positioning of the ship. The scrutinizing eye of the photographer and the landscape in the background are the sole witnesses of the event that just occurred.
Sonneman's pairing of stills provides a sense of narrative that brings to mind the idea of motion picture. As she captures the actions that take place in the events she chooses to narrate, the artist explores the transition between then and now. Her work reminds us of the flow of time, or does it, she could also be implying a sense of permanence, a fact recording where notions of before or after no longer matter.