Collectif La Grotte
La Grotte consists of five photographers: Bertrand Cavalier, Lucie Dufour, Maud Faivre, Massao Mascaro and Gilles Ribero who unite documentary and more abstract approaches to photography. The collective was founded in 2012 as a way to gather forces and break out of the anonymity with which young photographers are confronted, with books as its preferred, democratic medium. La Grotte (or « The Cave ») is a metaphor for the camera obscura. It represents a poetic analogy to the photographic process of going out into the world, catching the light and bringing it back.
La Grotte is currently working on a book project called ‘Speaking in Tongues’ made in collaboration with the graphic designer Björn Schmidt.
‘Speaking in tongues’ refers to the use, usually unconscious or automatic, of an unknown language made up from familiar sounds. This title with its biblical touch echoes the way that they see their work as a collective in this new project. ‘Speaking in Tongues’ is thought of as a space of freedom where the members each draw from their own oeuvre so that contact with others allows new readings of their own work. Pulled from their original contexts, the images take shape in a shared expression that leads them to serve as a wellspring of unexpected directions. While maintaining each photographer’s distinct approach and feel, La Grotte dissolves the concept of author and oeuvre through the construction of a new language using visual associations.
In parallel with the individual careers and exhibitions of each of its members, the collective has featured in exhibitions at the Le Gué youth center (Brussels, 2013), at PointCulture Louvain-La-Neuve with the Lucie project (2014), a projection in collaboration with Septembre Tiberghien, answering the invitation from Amélie de Brouwer and Damien De Lepeleire at Dehors, Contemporary Art Window (Brussels, 2015), a residency at the Destelheide youth, art and creativity centre (Dworp, 2015) and a residency at the FOMU, Fotomuseum Antwerp as part of the photobook week, Braakland.
