Clarisse Hahn

CRACK! (série "Princes de la rue")

Les princes de la rue by Clarisse Hahn is part of Boyzone, a long term project in which the artist observes how men’s bodies reflect their relationships to public and private spaces. Hahn’s photographs move beyond gazing at the Other; they demonstrate how outcast, among themselves, can reproduce the gaze that is cast on them as a means of expression. As such, this series makes space for Hahn’s subjects to intimately express their strength, fragility, and pain, as well as their history. 

The two documentary photographs in this series depict juxtaposed night-time street scenes from Boulevard Barbès, a working-class neighborhood of Paris. One photograph illustrates cacophony, while the other depicts harmony. The former photograph features a blurry man observing as sparks fly from a firecracker across the street. In the latter, a group of young men congregate at an outdoor table to share a meal. Mobilizing archival imagery in tandem with her documentary photographs, Hahn evokes invisible genealogies. The archival image paired with this series depicts a black and white photograph of young soldiers with accompanying text designating them as ‘heroes’. The young men in Hahn’s photographs are the descendants of these so-called French ‘heroes’ who were recruited during the colonial era. But in the context of these photographs, Hahn demonstrates that heroes and anti-heroes can be one and the same.