PARIS PHOTO 2025 WAS ALL A DREAM

words by FRANCK ALAN-STEED
direction and co-ordination by JOY SINANIAN
photography by THOMAS LACHAMBRE

I must admit that I feel a strange sense of excitement as I step into the Grand Palais to explore the latest Paris Photo exhibition. This event, which will soon celebrate its thirtieth anniversary, is housed beneath the immense glass roof of one of Paris's most legendary buildings. Originally constructed for the 1900 World's Fair, the Grand Palais is the perfect venue for discovering galleries, artists, and photography professionals from around the globe who have come together to showcase their work. 

The venue consists of large spaces adorned with stunning Art Nouveau ironwork, and the glass ceiling is bathed in the light of a beautiful blue sky. While the setting is perfect, I wonder if the exhibition can reinvent itself at a time when the world of photography is flooded with insipid virtual creations. 

Fortunately, the magic begins as soon as I reach the first gallery booths. First, I come across a few images by Lin Zhipeng, who captures natural moments of everyday life with disconcerting simplicity. The artist lets his camera drift over faces, captures emotions and renders the ordinary beautiful. Observing the spectators around me, I realise that no one is indifferent to his art, whether it is the young girl with the doves or the pretty young woman looking through her car window.

Lin Zhipeng, Meimei’s Flying
2018
Series DIASPORA BIRDS

Further on, Jack Davison's series of lost faces against white backgrounds catches the eye. The minimalist frames contain portraits of pensive women and a few shy men who appear lost in the strength of the women’s gazes and the emotions they convey. The effect is both unsettling and comforting. I feel close to these people, who seem to understand us and show us that we all experience the same existential anxieties in different ways.

the artist Jack Davison, 2025

The exhibition seems endless, which is fitting given the powerful revelations on display. Emi Kusmano uses artificial intelligence to reinvent the absurdity of the working world in bright colours. Alain Fleischer intrigues us with his black-and-white mastery, revealing the fleeting gaze of an unknown woman. And Chloé Milos Azzopardi depicts hope with extraordinary sensitivity, capturing her subjects in tender yet brutal poses with enveloping soft tones.

left:
Emi Kusano, Greenhouse of Service
2025
Series Office Ladies: Rituals of Overflow.

right:
Emi Kusano, Overseer
2025
Series Office Ladies: Rituals of Overflow.

Chloé Milos Azzopardi, untitled no.12
2023

In the same spirit, Bérangère Fromont proclaims, “Solidarity is the tenderness of peoples”. With her models seen from behind, their expressive faces never cease to make us question human existence and the meaning of life.

Such creativity leaves me thoughtful yet reassured. Technology and its brand new intelligence can draw, paint and stage whatever it wants, but it will never stop true creators from setting new trends, taking a stand or displaying sensitivity in an increasingly insensitive world.

left:
Bérangère Fromont, Sans titre
2022

right:
Bérangère Fromont, Sans titre
2022

I find myself reluctant to leave, convinced that I am moving too quickly to fully appreciate Nhu Xuan Ha's incomparable vermilion red or Gerd Bonfert's disturbing faceless man, which is displayed a few steps away from Helmut Newton's light-hearted photograph of the timeless Cindy Crawford.

Gerd Bonfert, D-77-1
1990

Helmut Newton
1991

Surely I can't be the only one who thinks that these discoveries are an invitation to travel? I stumble upon a few colourful titles with carefully designed covers. This is the 'As Seen By' collection, a series of beautiful travel photography books – not to mention cookery books – published by Belmond in collaboration with five photographers. Each photographer has covered an exceptional destination in their own unique way. From the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train, Europe to the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town and the mysterious English countryside, each book showcases exceptional places where we could happily while away the days.

As night falls and the stars illuminate the roof of the Grand Palais, I realise that perhaps the secret of this timeless exhibition is simple: to capture the essence of a changing world and offer an endless, unpredictable journey.