Bondy, Aubervilliers, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Bobigny, Sevran … The photographer Marvin Bonheur, born in 1991, grew up in several cities of Seine-Saint-Denis, a department whose simple name evokes images of violence, trafficking, of greyness to those who only know him through television. In fact, he recognizes it, in the “districts”, the horizon is more blocked than elsewhere. “In college, when I said that I wanted to do styling because I liked drawing and fashion, the guidance counselor told me that I was too dreamy, that I had to keep my feet on the ground . ”
The young man, from a family from the West Indies in the 1960s, hung on. After a BEP printing, which has “Open your eyes to art”, then a BAC communication graphic designer, he ends up setting foot in Paris. The dream. But also the big gap between his home environment and the capital. It must be said that Marvin Bonheur found accommodation in a chic corner of the 17the district, where its youth and its color of skin stand out. “I see people who change the sidewalk. There are some who refuse to make the entry code for my building in front of me. I am told that I speak well for someone from 93. At 22 years old, it’s weird. “ The young man then crosses “A big identity crisis”.
“There, I had my first kiss. There, my first argument. I revisited all the moments and places that built me. Even if I also experienced terrible things. »Marvin Bonheur
He who loves photography begins his series in 2014 Alzheimer, a project at the start “More personal than artistic”. For three years, he returned to photograph the places of his childhood, his friends. Live images taken with the film camera – a singular choice for a person of his age. “It was a dive into the past and memories, film gives a nostalgic side. I wanted to do like a family album, like my mother’s, with pictures of the kids naked in the bath. “
In his photos, there are burnt cars and degraded concrete, but also touches of color, the tiling of the kebab. He goes up the thread of a daily life, between the ice cream seller, the supermarket, the smiles. “There, I had my first kiss. There, my first argument. I revisited all the moments and places that built me. Even if I also experienced terrible things. “
Women, proud and free
An exhibition in the Marais at the Galerie L’Imprimerie in 2017 reconciles him with his past and with his two worlds. “The hanging was not far from the Halles district. There were strangers and people from the art world, who couldn’t imagine that what I was showing was forty-five minutes away. And also young people from the suburbs, who thought it was cool. My friends were superficial. They saw themselves beautiful, strong, inspiring. ”
The success of the series drew attention to Marvin. She also prompted him to create a trilogy with two additional chapters, Therapy and Renaissance, which include portraits, close-ups, more raw scenes. “I wanted to send messages. Abandonment, failure, but also love, friendship, life together. There are allusions to the death of Zyed and Bouna [électrocutés dans un transformateur à Clichy-sous-Bois en 2005 alors qu’ils fuyaient un contrôle de police], to riots. “
To counter the clichés, he also shows women, proud and free – including Meggy Pyaneeandee, Miss Ile-de-France 2016, passed by Sciences Po, who poses in his city of Blanc-Mesnil. “With photography, I understood who I was, why I had this language, this impatience, said Marvin Bonheur today. And I also show who the people of 93 are, who don’t deserve to be sidelined. With Renaissance, I end on the dream, the hope, the youth. “
The exhibition “The Trilogy of Happiness” by Marvin Bonheur in as part of the Festival Circulation (s), in Paris, has been postponed.
Marvin Bonheur’s website.
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