MAEVA BENAICHE
STACCATO
Published by LightMotiv, 2023
Book size 16.8 x 22.2 cm
Pages 88 pages – 44 photographs
Softcover
Limited edition of 700 copies
ISBN: 9791095118251
Staccato is a cry from the heart, a suspended testimony about to implode.
And this explosion is that of Maëva Benaiche. Photographer and stutterer, she navigates between words trying to find her place in this world of speech. She gives to see, to hear, to feel her experience of life tossed about by her language disorder. In his interactions, his expression is inhibited by the gaze of the other, by his memories that assault him, by his own doubts. His word struggles to follow the frantic race of his thoughts. And she wears herself out breaking down language barriers.
Staccato is a punctuated, choppy, liberated breath. Through photography, Maëva Benaiche gets rid of all restraints, hers and those of others. She lets flow images with organic, psychic, elementary forms. This refined aesthetic is forged in black and white, in centered but agitated compositions, in games of movement and blur. Sometimes jostled, prone to cracks and splinters, sometimes freed, soothed, his photographs instinctively follow the course of a fluid, powerfully introspective narrative. We are moved by his words and carried away by his visions.
Staccato is impregnated as much with its delicacy as with its flame, and it draws, on the edge of what the photographer reveals to us, a call to openness, an invitation to let go and acceptance.
The preface by Caroline Bénichou, director of the VU' gallery, puts the words on "the expression of a desire and a devouring energy" specific to the photography of Maëva Benaiche.
------
Staccato is a cry from the heart, a testimony in suspense on the verge of imploding.
And this explosion is that of Maëva Benaiche. Photographer and stutterer, she navigates between words seeking to find her place in this world of speech. She gives to see, to hear, to feel her life experience tossed about by her language disorder. In her interactions, her expression is inhibited by the gaze of the other, by her memories that assail her, by her own doubts. Her speech struggles to keep up with the frantic race of her thoughts. And she exhausts herself trying to break down the barriers of language.
Staccato is a rhythmic, chopped, liberated breathing. Through photography, Maëva Benaiche frees herself of all the restraints, her own and those of others. She lets images flow in streams with organic, psychic, elementary forms. This refined aesthetic is forged in black and white, in centered but agitated compositions, in the play of movement and blur. Sometimes jarring, prone to cracks and bursts, sometimes delivered, soothed, her photographs instinctively follow the course of a fluid, powerfully introspective narrative. We are carried away by her words and swept away by her visions.
Staccato is imbued with both its delicacy and its flame, and it draws, at the edge of what the photographer reveals to us, a call for openness, an invitation to let go and acceptance.
The preface by Caroline Bénichou , director of the VU' gallery, puts words to "the expression of a desire and a devouring energy" specific to the photography of Maëva Benaiche.