MANIAC is Éric Canto’s first solo exhibition as a visual artist. Presented at the Shadows Gallery in Arles as part of the Off program of the Rencontres de la Photographie, it brings together three series: Virgin Suicide, Maniac, and Matière Noire.
The exhibition explores psychological defense mechanisms: what closes off, veils, or covers up when the subject is still standing but no longer responds. Not madness, but a response—a way of coping and protecting oneself.
A photographer of the rock scene for twenty years, Éric Canto has also been designing album covers for the band Mass Hysteria for fifteen years. Two of these series, *Maniac* (2019) and *Matière Noire* (2015), are being presented for the first time as fine art prints.
