Ever heard of Clémentine Schneidermann? The 26-year-old photographer, originally from Paris, spent some time in Switzerland before deciding to move to Wales five years ago, to study the renowned documentary photography course offered by the (then) University of Wales, Newport.
There, she discovered the melancholic beauty of the Valleys' landscapes and the generosity of their inhabitants, which inspired her award-winning project "Heads of the Valleys". Clémentine also photographed doubles of Elvis in Porthcawl, a small town in South Wales that holds a festival in honour of the King in September each year, and their counterparts in Tennessee, for another enchanting project entitled "I called her Lisa-Marie".
Heard at the pub " She comes all the way from France to take pictures here... why. There's nothing there"
Left: Johnny, Porthcawl festival, Wales 2014 / Right: Johnny Be Goode, Porthcawl festival, Wales 2014
Creative Photography & Social Documentary
You don't need to be an expert to realise that Clémentine has a real talent for taking beautiful photographs. But what makes Clémentine's art truly interesting, is all the work behind the scene: the series of successful encounters, with other artists and with the communities she photographs, as well as the social message underpinning her work.
In 2015, Clémentine was commissioned by Art + Minds Cymru, a recent arts and regeneration programme based in Blaenau Gwent, to take photographs of social housing in the Valleys. To this end, she settled in Abertillery, the largest town of the Ebbw Fach valley, which has one of region's highest poverty rates. She stayed there for the next two years, instead of the three months initially planned.
As Clémentine explains: "In the 1980s, following the election of Margaret Thatcher, the region lost all of its mining industry almost overnight. Investors fled, and so did jobs. Since then, the Valleys and their inhabitants have suffered from a lot of stigmatisation.
"But after spending some time living in Abertillery, I found out there was more to it, and I wanted to challenge and play around pre-conceptions. At first, I was mainly taking photographs of children and teenagers in the streets. But simply seizing them in their immediate environment was not enough, I wanted to go further, to break down the stereotypes."
The young photographer describes her approach as somehow counter-journalistic, as she takes the time to capture and document the region's extraordinary banality. In this regard, Clémentine's work is inspired by and falls within the magic realism movement, which basically expresses a primarily realistic view of the world while adding or revealing magical elements.
To enhance the Valleys' poetry, Clémentine teamed up with Welsh stylist Charlotte James. Together, they have been working with a couple of local Youth Clubs. The children enthusiastically take part in the conception of their colourful costume during workshops, and wear them proudly during shootings.
But these clubs are now jeopardised, due to further spending cuts. Clémentine said: "The clubs we work with were so far funded by the Communities First programme, which has recently been cancelled by the Welsh Government. Today, social workers find themselves struggling. Many have quit, and others receive no income for the work they do."
Now living in Cardiff, in a sun-bathed (but slightly chilly) top-floor flat in the old bay area, which she shares with Argentinian photographer Sebastian Bruno, Clémentine is doing a PhD at the University of South Wales. She is still working on both her projects "I called her Lisa-Marie" and "Heads of the Valleys", for which she already won the prestigious Leica prize (Newcomer category) in 2016.
New Generation & Slow Regeneration
In 1984, half-way through Margaret Thatcher's premiership, Ffotogallery (the national development agency for photography in Wales) established The Valleys Project, described as:
"A unique undertaking to document what has to be one of the most captivating yet industrialised landscapes of Northern Europe. During the five years of the project to 1990, it has drawn together the work of photographers resident in Wales and further afield, to create a contemporary visual record and social documentary encompassing a broad geographical spread of the South Wales Valleys."
Left: photo by Mike Berry / Right: photo by Paul Reas
The project features the works of David Bailey, Mike Berry, John Davies, Peter Fraser, Ron McCormick, Francesca Odell, Paul Reas, William Tsui, Roger Tiley, and Wally Waygood. All talented photographers, but also all from Wales or England ("further afield"). Although William Tsui's parents are originally from Hong Kong, he also grew up in the UK.
Which is why I find it all the more interesting that thirty odd years later, South Wales sparks the curiosity of a new wave of young photographers like Clémentine Schneidermann and Sebastian Bruno, who with their own cultural baggage are willing to document the Valleys in a fresh and imaginative way. They are part of a new generation of photographers coming to Wales, not only to capture the Valleys' slow regeneration, but also to learn from the likes of David Barnes, who has been working here for over fifteen years.
Left: photo by Sebastian Bruno / Right: photo by Clémentine Schneidermann
Exhibitions & Books
If you're looking for something to do this week-end, and haven't been yet, do not miss Swaps at National Museum Cardiff. The (free!) exhibition "celebrates the major gift of photographs from David Hurn's private collection and marks the opening of Amgueddfa Cymru's first gallery dedicated to photography". In other words, this is the first of an exciting series of photography exhibitions to take place in the museum.
Over the last couple of years, selections of Clémentine's photographs have also been exhibited at the Grand Palais, Paris; at the Millenium Centre, Cardiff; in Amsterdam and in Copenhagen.
Her book dummy "I Called her Lisa-Marie", designed by Claire Huss, was shortlisted for the LUMA Rencontres Dummy Award. It was exhibited last summer during the Arles Festival, and the finalised book will be published within the coming year. Another book for "Heads of the Valleys" will eventually follow.
Clémentine is also regularly commissioned on various projects, elsewhere in the UK and in France. To stay updated, do visit her news page.