Exhibition People of the Sea - Gens de la mer

The Alliance Française Dublin and Veolia Environnement
In partnership with Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh County Cork and The West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen, West Cork
present

People of the Sea - Gens de la mer

Photographs by Gilles Perrin
Exhibition opens Thursday 6 October at 6.30pm in the presence of H.E. Emmanuelle d’Achon

7 October – 26 November 2011

The Alliance Française, Dublin in partnership with The Sirius Arts Centre and West Cork Arts Centre present “People of the Sea” an exhibition of documentary photographs of the Irish Fishing industry by French photographer, Gilles Perrin. These large format black and white images capture the lives of people working in maritime industries around the Cork coastline. Gilles Perrin selected his subjects by visiting harbours and piers in locations such as Cobh, Baltimore, Schull and Castletownbere through the Artist in residency programme at Sirius Arts Centre and later by a similar residency position at the West Cork Arts Centre which took place over a few months in 2007 & 2008.

The photographs which comprise People of the Sea create a valuable document for Ireland illustrating and recording the lives of the families whose work has a history with the sea and make up this long standing vital tradition in Ireland's heritage. The images are made by a large format camera utilizing long exposure times; the resulting large negatives allow tiny details to be viewed with extreme clarity. Often Perrin presents his work as diptychs and triptychs to reveal the full panoramic landscape of the subjects he photographs.

Gilles Perrin is based in Paris, France and has a Master’s Degree in photography. For over 30 years Gilles has photographed extensively with large format cameras (4x5 and 8x10 inches). His passion for photography has taken him to Africa, Tibet, Finland, India, China, Peru and throughout Europe. His work has been exhibited in Japan, China, Syria, Egypt, USA and Europe. “People of the Sea” was first exhibited in 2010 at Sirius Arts Centre and West Cork Arts Centre and is the result of artist residencies with these organisations in 2007 and 2008.

The photographs were printed in Cork at iophotoworks by Tony O’Brien whose kind support is greatly appreciated. It was also made possible in part through art grants from Cork County Council and the Arts Council, Gilles’ wife, Nicole Ewenczyk, was also a key figure in the making of these images. For more information on Gilles Perrin please visit his website at: http://gilles-perrin.com. Gilles Perrin will be present at the opening of this exhibition.



WCAC and Sirius Arts Centre acknowledge the financial support of the Arts Council in making this exhibition possible.

Alliance Française de Dublin
1 Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Monday-Thursday: 8.30am-7.30pm
Friday: 8.30am - 5.00pm
Saturday: 8.30am to 2pm