{"id":85343,"date":"2025-07-23T07:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/85343\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T07:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:27:10","slug":"a-world-blown-upside-down-my-arles-photo-festival-picks-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/85343\/","title":{"rendered":"A world blown upside down: my Arles photo festival picks | Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a time when the world is gripped by crisis, and conversations swirl with talk of conflict, political upheaval and nuclear attack, the work of the renowned Japanese photographer Kikuji Kawada<\/a> feels more relevant than ever.<\/p>\n

On display at this year\u2019s Rencontres d\u2019Arles<\/a>, Kawada\u2019s seminal series The Map \u2013 created from his visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the aftermath of the atomic bombings 80 years ago \u2013 forms the cornerstone of an exhibition shown in France for the first time by the Kyotographie<\/a> festival team in collaboration with Sigma<\/a>. These haunting images stand as a powerful artistic response to the trauma of nuclear devastation, layered with political metaphor and historical weight.<\/p>\n

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I went inside the Atomic Bomb Dome all alone \u2026 what I saw on the site was the trace of violence<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Moving through the decades, Kawada\u2019s work reveals an evolving artistic language \u2013 one that embraces new techniques and technologies to reflect a world in constant flux.<\/p>\n

In the chapter The Last Cosmology, he focuses time and time again on the events of 9\/11, making the sky begin to feel like a theatrical set for fatal disaster.<\/p>\n

Now aged 92, Kawada is still photographing every day and is an enthusiastic and committed Instagrammer.<\/p>\n

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I can upload a picture to Instagram and now more people will see it than will read a weekly magazine<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Among the festival\u2019s standout exhibitions is a beautifully curated tribute by Simon Baker and Elsa Janssen to the life and work of Yves Saint Laurent. Rich with iconic prints by fashion photography greats such as Irving Penn, Guy Bourdin and Annie Leibovitz<\/a>, the exhibition dazzles with visual history. Yet the true fascination lies in the intimate, elegant portraiture that traces Saint Laurent himself throughout his life \u2013 capturing not just a designer, but a cultural icon.<\/p>\n