Awarded
Romain Rousset
Series of photos for the magazine 'brand eins', series posters for 'Mode Depesche'
Photography
Jury report
Successfully disturbed images
How do you present a collection of clothes in such a way that people look twice at it? By using supermodels? The graphic artist Romain Rousset, working with Geoffrey Cottenceau on the photo session for a German fashion magazine presenting a collection by Stephan Schneider, shows that it can be done differently. A young man poses in an unspectacular vest with straps, with an absent look on his face. But the viewer's eye is immediately caught by the straps on the vest. This is because they do not fit close to the body, but arch over the model's shoulders. Somewhat amazed and with our curiosity aroused by unsettling little features like these, actual disturbances to the image, we feel like looking again, and are enchanted. Just as we are with another model with his hands on his hips, while at the same time crossing his arms behind his back.
Viewers very quickly catch on to something that is not quite right in a picture. But precise 'eye-catchers' like those used by the Lausanne trained photographer Romain Rousset create visual disturbances by the simplest of means, and these definitely possess narrative qualities. As observers, we like to think out micro-stories about how these images could have come into being. It is particularly striking that the 'how is it done?' element of the visual 'deception' – achieved for once without any digital manipulation – can be solved very quickly. Even so, or perhaps precisely because of the fact that there is no attempt at perfection, we feel like examining the image much more closely. It is rare for such minimalist means to achieve a maximum effect like this: these pictures even gain a few more seconds' attention from people who are not actually interested in the clothes in the photographs at all.
Peter Stohler
Biography
Romain Rousset
Born in
1978
Education
designer HES en communication visuelle