Photographer Claude Juan is presenting a captivating exhibition at the municipal archives in Antibes, France, showcasing his remarkable photographic project that seamlessly blends historical and contemporary images of the coastal city. The exhibition, titled "Past/Present: My Improbable Photos," runs until December 19 and features a series of meticulously crafted digital montages that merge yesterday's Antibes with today's reality.
Since retiring in 2007, Juan has combined two of his greatest passions: his beloved hometown of Antibes Juan-les-Pins and photography. As a self-taught photographer, Juan explains his artistic mission: "Over the years, I've learned to enhance what touches me most: telling the anecdotes and memories of past generations." His unique approach creates a poetic dialogue between memory and modernity, offering viewers a journey through different eras of the French Riviera town.
The exhibition emerged from countless experiments with Photoshop software, a process that initially proved challenging for the autodidactic artist. "At the beginning, it was catastrophic! The angles and proportions didn't match," Juan admits with a laugh. "Through perseverance, I managed to blend the eras until I created the illusion of a single photograph." The results are indeed stunning, creating seamless compositions that appear to capture impossible moments in time.
One of Juan's most impressive achievements required an hour of patient waiting to capture a contemporary regional train (TER) passing exactly where its 1952 predecessor had been photographed. "I machine-gunned the train's arrival to ensure it passed exactly at the same spot as in the old photograph," Juan recounts. He positioned himself on Boulevard Gustave-Chancel, just steps from the colonial bridge, demonstrating the meticulous planning required for each composition.
The historical images come from various sources, with a significant portion obtained from Philippe Bompuis, a former photographer for the local newspaper Nice-Matin, as well as loans from private collectors. This diverse archive provides Juan with the raw material needed to create his temporal fusion projects.
Juan's approach is far from spontaneous. When recreating a scene in front of the former La Potinière bar in Juan-les-Pins, complete with vintage cars, he intercepted a driver and asked him to pose for the shot. "I never take my photos randomly. Each element of the present must dialogue with the past to tell a story," he explains. "I've merged more than 70 images, but only 20 are displayed. I discarded many others, but when the alchemy works, it's magical."
Human figures remain central to most of Juan's montages, serving as reference points that create scenes where past and present appear to converse naturally. For his Porte Marine composition, a Spanish couple even agreed to pose alongside residents who were immortalized in a 1929 photograph. "My ideas constantly flow to imagine unprecedented fusions. Beyond the artistic project, it's also a human adventure, made of unexpected encounters," Juan reflects.
One particularly moving composition condenses an entire family history into a single superimposition. At the entrance to the Grand Theater on Place De-Gaulle, now transformed into a Monoprix store, three generations stand together: grandfather Georges Maréchal (center), founder of the theater; father Georges Fernand on a bicycle as a child; and son and grandson Thierry Maréchal (left) 86 years later. This powerful image demonstrates how Juan's work transcends mere technical achievement to become genuine storytelling.
For curious visitors seeking more of Juan's work, additional photomontages are displayed at Le Pimms brasserie at 3 rue de la République. His technique for blending eras varies "according to feeling," as he describes it. In his recreation of Place Guynemer as it appeared in 1935, already animated by the coming and going of buses, Juan carefully positioned himself at the same time as the original photograph – 10:45 AM. The modern Envibus network vehicles are barely visible in the nearly century-old setting, creating an effect where "characters from the past and present give the impression of crossing the border of their era."
Juan's exhibition represents more than just technical prowess with digital imaging; it serves as a bridge between generations, allowing viewers to experience the continuity and change that defines urban life. Through his patient work and artistic vision, he has created a unique form of historical documentation that brings the past into conversation with the present in ways that traditional photography cannot achieve.
