INSDUSTRIE - LA VALLÉE
BY JENNIFER NIEDERHAUSER SCHLUP
Jennifer Niederhauser Schlup, lives and works in Lausanne. She holds a Bachelor in Photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston and a Master in Art Direction from the Universuty of Art and Design, Lausanne (Ecal). Her work has been shown in various exhibition and publications.
In 2014 she was a FOAM Talent as well as a Vfg nachwuchsförderpreis laureate and shortlisted for the Voies Off Prize. Her work has been included in exhibitions at Atelier Néerlandais — Paris, East Wing Gallery — Dubai, BEARSPACE gallery — London among others.
She is also the Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director of Adventice Editions (AE), which she founded in 2011 together with graphic designer Florine Bonaventure. AE is an independent publishing house which releases annually the eponymous publication Adventice.
Synopsis
La Vallée postulates photography as a creator of stories, whether they fall under pure invention or are rooted in a certain reality. Photography becomes here the
vector of a very personal vision and tends to fiction. Taking the aspect of a fictional study, the project considers la Vallée de Joux and its geographic, demographic and industrial characteristics, emphasizing the heterogeneous aspects of the region. Indeed, this area is a microcosm where traditions, rigor, industry and luxury come together. These notions, sometimes paradoxical, are the result of its location as a remote valley of the Jura and its importance as one of the birthplaces of the watch industry.
La Vallée shows an unconventional perspective on this unique socio-geographic context and contradicts prejudices deeply rooted in the imagination of the foreigner. The photographs, in the guise of documentary and objective images are manipulated, retouched and composed so as to create a manufactured substantiality and disturb the viewer. The whole consists of various series each adopting a specific aesthetic and re-interpreting various photographic genres.The story becomes emblematic and exposes the importance of imagination in creating a site-specific identity.
The series presented here is Industrie.
Editor's note
Our aim is to disseminate and bring to light telling work of emergent or young photographers.