The Regional Contemporary Art Fund of Corsica (FRAC) in Corte has officially opened a new exhibition titled "In Their Image," which spotlights the emerging photographic talent from the island. The exhibition, which opened on Monday, November 3rd, features dozens of photographs from young Corsican artists who are making their mark in contemporary art through the medium of photography.
Sébastien Arrighi, who co-curated the exhibition alongside Fabien Danesi, the director of FRAC Corsica, explained the genesis and philosophy behind this artistic endeavor. According to Arrighi, the exhibition emerged from discussions about a rising young artistic scene on the island that heavily utilizes photography as a medium but remains largely overshadowed by the amateur photography that floods social media platforms.
"We felt it was very important to make this distinction between contemporary photography and lighter practices, and to pay homage to these young artists who are trying to use this medium in service of their personal message," Arrighi explained. The curators recognized the need to separate serious artistic work from the casual smartphone photography that dominates today's visual landscape.
The exhibition challenges the notion that professional equipment is necessary for contemporary art. Arrighi emphasized that even without owning a professional camera, artists can use their mobile phones to engage in contemporary artistic projects. "Art history has demonstrated this to us many times: tools can be repurposed infinitely," he noted. "What's important is really this economy of the image, this slow construction, this precision in the gaze."
This approach represents a deliberate counter-movement to the immediacy that characterizes modern image consumption. The process of creating meaningful photographs requires time – time to understand the territory being explored, time to appreciate and evaluate images, and time to carefully select and sort through work. This essential temporal element stands in stark contrast to the instant publication culture that dominates social media.
The selection process for the featured artists was both comprehensive and carefully curated. The organizers initially contacted numerous photographers across the island but refined their selection based on several factors, including how well the works would dialogue with each other within FRAC's exhibition spaces. "We studied the dialogues between the works themselves – it was impossible to place certain photos facing each other," Arrighi explained.
Rather than following a specific thematic thread, the exhibition uses photography as its unifying element. While landscape photography appears frequently throughout the show, there is no single overarching theme. Instead, the medium itself and the physical spaces of FRAC serve as the connecting elements between the various artists and their works.
The exhibition represents more than just traditional photography, incorporating performances that are documented through photographic means. This approach demonstrates photography's integral role in contemporary art and its ability to capture and preserve various forms of artistic expression.
Each presentation in the exhibition represents an excerpt from a larger body of work, offering visitors a glimpse into each artist's broader artistic practice. The curators acknowledge that they were unable to include every photographer from the Corsican scene, but the selected works provide a representative sample of the island's emerging photographic talent.
The "In Their Image" exhibition stands as a testament to the vibrant contemporary art scene developing in Corsica and highlights the sophisticated use of photography by young island artists who are creating meaningful work that transcends casual image-making.
