The weather in Paris has been absolutely terrible for the past week – gray skies, the occasional drizzle, low light… bref, a photographer’s nightmare. Experiencing sharp pangs of photography withdrawal crisis, I decided to resort to plan B: taking photos inside Paris’ subway stations.
I spent about an hour hopping on and off trains on lines 7 and 10, and navigating the hallways of each stop, looking for interesting ads to photograph for my Illusionists archive. I had noticed that at the Odeon stop on line 10 there has been quite a bit of vandalism, directed at the newest video billboards that are becoming ubiquitous around Paris. All the video screens at this station have been smashed – and some of them carry a “No Pub” (“No Advertising” message).
What made an impression on me was the reaction of passersby as they saw me taking photos. Parisians – just like New Yorkers – are used to being surrounded by camera-wielding tourists year-round. But they simply don’t expect to see someone taking photos of billboards inside a subway station. At 9 o’clock at night. People stared at me with curiosity, as I paced up and down the platform, taking photos of bikini and phone ads, sometimes timing the snapping with the arrival of a train. It was pure joy to see fellow passengers as they turned their backs and started examining the ads for the first time. This happened quite a few times – people young and old would simply stop in their tracks and study the ads I was photographing. Conversations were started. So, the Lisa Simpson in me rejoiced at the opportunity to shed light on the saturation of advertising messages and its effects. I look forward to continuing this series of photographs…
As always, click on the photos to enlarge them.
Wonderful photos and pleased that your work got people to pause and “see” the billboards, perhaps for the 1st time. Starting a conversation is powerful, so gray skies in Paris become a good thing.
Thanks for your work.
Thank you for the kind words, Cherry! I really appreciate.
It gives me hope that we still have so many conscious people on the planet in every country waking up to injustice and exploitation. I enjoyed looking at your work and remembering that my image of a short fat woman isn't represented in HIgh fashion media. I represent myself and need to see my own image as healthy and real. Thanks for sharing, and engaging others to think before they consume.
Thank you!!! Thoughtful and supportive messages like this one make me extra motivated to carry on with my work :)
I love the top picture. And I know the feeling…last year I did a photo project for a 3D imaging company and people stared at me like a crazy tourist when I'd do a 360 around buildings, taking photo after photo :-)
Thank you Eve :)