A unique photography exhibition exploring death, one of society's most avoided subjects, is taking place in Yssingeaux from November 1-16. Photographer Lucien Soyere presents his compelling collection of funeral and death-related photographs, challenging cultural taboos around documenting life's final moments.
It took Soyere several years of patience and sensitivity to complete his ambitious photography project centered on death. While our lives are filled with countless photographed moments - a phenomenon amplified by smartphone usage - funerals remain the one occasion where photographers become unwelcome in our culture. The project was inspired by Sylvain Maresca's text "A Ritual Without Images: The Social Life of Images," which sparked the Monistrol-based photographer's curiosity and desire to capture these painful but significant passages.
"Funeral photos and ceremonies around death are notably absent from family albums," explains Soyere, who never goes anywhere without his camera. "These aren't photos you'd hang on your living room walls, but they deserve their place in family albums, in my opinion." His perspective challenges conventional thinking about what moments deserve documentation and preservation.
The exhibition will be displayed on November 1-2 under a tent at the entrance to Yssingeaux cemetery. Starting Tuesday, November 4, a more intimate version will be installed at L'Écume des Sucs bookstore on Rue Maréchal-Fayolle in Yssingeaux, remaining there throughout November. This dual presentation allows visitors to experience the work in both public and private settings.
The exhibition is part of a thematic fortnight organized in Yssingeaux to address death through various artistic mediums, including photography, music, and film. The initiative represents a positive approach to confronting mortality directly rather than avoiding the subject.
Key events include the photography exhibition running from November 1-2 at Yssingeaux cemetery, continuing at L'Écume des Sucs bookstore throughout November, alongside an exhibition of funeral urns by ceramist Eric Jousserand de Pierrepont. On November 6, David Semerian will perform Brassens songs at 19:00 at Le Flow on Boulevard Saint-Pierre, celebrating a poet who "loved to joke with death." The evening operates on a pay-what-you-can basis.
Additional programming includes a November 11 cinema screening at 20:00 at La Grenette, featuring the film "Adieu Berthe ou l'enterrement de Mémé" (Goodbye Berthe or Grandma's Funeral). From November 5-13, "Les conversations du Flow" will host an 18:00 debate asking why funeral photos are largely absent from family albums, with free admission.
This comprehensive cultural approach to examining death through art, music, and discussion provides the community with multiple ways to engage with a universal human experience typically shrouded in silence and avoidance.
