Festival OFF : Eric Bouvet : “Sex, Love…”

A French photojournalist born in Paris in 1961, Eric Bouvet began his career at the Élysée Palace in May 1981, where he photographed Raymond Barre and Valery Giscard d’Estaing for their last cabinet meeting. Since then, he has travelled the world, covering major events and conflicts.
Attentive to respecting the dignity of people who will remain in books and museums, his approach is up-close and incisive. He has been published in Time Magazine, Life Magazine, Paris-Match, Stern, The New York Times, Der Spiegel, The Sunday Times Magazine and has received numerous awards, including the Visa d’Or News and World Press. Eric Bouvet was a finalist for the Oskar Barnak Award for the “Elevations” series presented here during Rencontres 2024.
The “Sex, love…” series was shot in 2015, using 4×5 cameras on Polaroid 55 film.
Each subject was the subject of a single image, for two reasons. Firstly, Eric Bouvet set himself a challenge: whatever the equipment, to trigger only once for each scene. Secondly, the “mythical” Polaroid 55 film had long since gone off the market, and two years earlier he had been able to buy a whole suitcase of the last boxes from B&H in New York. On the black market, the box sold for €200, with no guarantee of good condition.
These people come from different worlds, but what they all have in common is that they’re in the sex business. Some enjoy it, others live it or use it for their work. Over time, Eric Bouvet broadened his point of view and added the word “Love” to the title of the series. The absence of captions is deliberate, so as not to reduce the subjects photographed to their sex lives. Eric Bouvet always wants to preserve the integrity of those who have posed before his lens.