From Hara-Kiri to Charlie
This exhibition pays an homage to the editorial staff, to the people dedicating their life to satire and provocation and that paid a very high price for this choice. On the 7
th of January, a group of terrorists burst into
Charlie Hebdo's offices. The victims are the two founders of the historical satirical magazine, Wolinski and Cabu, and three cartoonists, Charb, Honoré and Tignous. The rest is now history. It is a black page for the freedom of the press, that has deeply shaken the
Ville Lumière and the entire Europe and that has been explored with a
lateral look by Arnaud Baumann's and
Xavier Lambours's project – presented by
Signatures and exhibited at
Caserne Gallieni.
The work is a very accurate choice of archive pictures; the journey begins with the editorial life of the satirical magazine
Hara-Kiri, focusing on the little creative and intellectual world that, in the 70s, was gravitating around it, and its most famous characters, such as Professeur Charon and François Cavanna, the founders of the first version of
Charlie Hebdo. Picture after picture, we are guided through the basic happenings that in 1992 led to the closure of
Hara-Kiri and the creation of the satirical magazine now sadly famous around the world. On the foreground the most important episodes and the different directors, cartoonists, editors and creatives that took part in this lively editorial activity. On the background there are thirty years of Parisian history, the evolution of trends and editorial practices. A real French history that according to Jean François Leroy –
VISA's patron – would not have found space in an international festival of photojournalism if nothing had happened on that terrible 7
th of January 2015. From that day everybody knows what is
Charlie Hebdo. The
stinging newspaper, half known outside France and often fiercely criticized, suddenly has become a symbol. A symbol of the fight for freedom of the press.
In this context, and in the wake of the scream «
We are all Charlie!», the work presented by Arnaud Baumann e
Xavier Lambours talks to a wider audience. This international echo certainly helped them to participate to the Festival but it can be barely perceived in their work. The day is in fact only suggested, and the audience has to put together its pieces. Nothing talks about the dramatic happenings in January and about the consequent reactions. Nothing except few soft references in the textual captions and one image on a black background – hanged on an aluminum panel in the middle of the room – with five faces that are portrayed in many other pictures of the exhibition. Five close ups with a blunt caption underneath: «Dessinateurs assassinés». [
S. B. ]
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FROM HARA-KIRI TO CHARLIE
by Arnaud Baumann and Xavier Lambours
Caserne Gallieni | until September, 13rd 2015
admission fee: free