Dilecta is presenting a comprehensive monographic exhibition featuring the work of multidisciplinary artist Nicolas Dhervillers at Paris Photo 2025. The showcase highlights a collection of previously unseen artworks that were specifically created for this prestigious photography fair, demonstrating the artist's innovative approach to contemporary visual art.
Dhervillers employs a distinctive and sensitive methodology in his treatment of archival materials, breaking down traditional boundaries within the photographic medium by seamlessly integrating it with drawing techniques. This groundbreaking approach challenges conventional categorizations of artistic media and creates a unique hybrid form of visual expression that speaks to both historical documentation and contemporary artistic interpretation.
The artist's current body of work draws extensively from images captured by anonymous photographers who documented the vast American territories between 1860 and 1880. These historical photographs serve as powerful testimonies to the significant technological and industrial revolutions that fundamentally transformed the newly-explored and documented regions of the United States during this pivotal period in American expansion and development.
Through his artistic intervention, Dhervillers aims to create meaningful connections with collective memory and shared historical experience. His work engages with the nearly faded images produced through the pastel printing process, which creates a visual effect that closely resembles the cinematic techniques of fade-in and fade-out, adding a temporal and sensory dimension to the viewing experience.
The exhibition invites viewers to critically examine and acknowledge the significant paradigm shift brought about by anthropocentric beliefs and their impact on how we perceive and interact with our environment. By presenting these transformed historical images, Dhervillers encourages audiences to question their assumptions and reconsider their relationship with both historical narratives and contemporary environmental consciousness.
