Christian Lamontagne in Cap-Chat (2012)

EXHIBIT: IMPERIAL VALLEY

Rest area | 7, rue Notre-Dame Est (Route 132) | View map

Sainte-Félicité (Québec) | www.christianlamontagne.com

When he takes his pictures he has a singular way of treating his subjects, by using sources of artificial light and by employing the environment as an evocative backdrop. He has done, among other series, “Mars in the Arctic” (a simulation of a mission to the planet Mars), “Imperial Valley” (portraits of residents of Imperial County, California) and “Sahel, sous la menace du desert” (Sahel, under Threat from the Desert), bearing on the consequences of the desertification in that region of Africa. Photography direction in films and documentary series for television occupies an important place in his activities (Arctic Lands, Architects of Change). He has worked in over 35 countries on five continents, and his video footage is regularly broadcast as part of the documentary program Les grands reportages on the Réseau d’information (RDI) network.

EXHIBIT PRESENTED AT THE RENCONTRES: IMPERIAL VALLEY

“Imperial Valley” is a series of portraits taken in the course of his randomly meeting up with the subjects in the deserts of Southern California. Sparsely populated, the place seemed tailored to Christian Lamontagne’s search for special encounters with available, marginal people. The photographer let his imagination soak up what radiated from them, in part through their unlikely presence in these arid places, in part through their post-apocalyptic appearance. A little as though seeking to collect encounters the way certain people collect souvenir articles from a film, Christian Lamontagne does not know the story, and leaves the viewer the pleasure of inventing it.

Recent or significant solo exhibits

2008

• “Paysages d’exploitation” (Exploited Landscapes), Festival de photographies contemporaines du paysage de Joliette, Joliette, Québec

2007

• “Vu du Large” (Seen from the Open Sea), Salon du livre maritime de Concarneau, Concarneau, France

2005

• “Paysages d’exploitation” (Exploited Landscapes), Galerie Rouje, Quebec City, Québec

Recent or significant group exhibits

2010

• “KAHEM,” Festival de photojournalisme de Saguenay, Saguenay, Québec

2008

• “Paysages d’exploitation” (Exploited Landscapes), Festival de photographies contemporaines du paysage de Joliette, Joliette, Québec

2005

• “Au milieu des choses” (In the Middle of Things), Musée de la Gaspésie, city of Gaspé, Québec, and Espace F, Matane, Québec
  distinctions oR AWARDS (sElection)

2004

• Artist on the rise award for the Lower St. Lawrence region, from the Conseil de la culture du Bas-Saint-Laurent
  publications

2011

• “Sahel, sous la menace du desert” (Sahel, under Threat from the Desert), Journal La Croix, Montrouge, Franc
• “Mars en Arctique” (Mars in the Arctic), Chasseurs d’images, Senillé, France

2010

• “Back to USSR,” Photo Art International