An intimate vision of Biarritz, a romance where time had paused, a mellow contemporary poem tinged with nostalgia.
French photographer Mathias Fennetaux launched his very first book entitled « No Skateboarding » in 2011. Throughout a series of 70 portraits of skateboarding legends such as Natas Kaupas, Tony Hawk, Tony Alva, Eric Koston or Andrew Reynolds, Fennetaux paid tribute to a decade chasing some of the most influential icons in the history of skateboarding. Five years later, once back in France, Fennetaux chose to turn his lens towards Biarritz and created « Et puis Biarritz », a poetic ode to the coastal town.
Celebrated at the Parisian concept-store Colette in May 2016, his second book gathers around 50 pictures mixing a notion of aethetics and poetry. "The book is a fugitive wandering as a solitary contemplation," he says. "A jigsaw puzzle, deliberately left incomplete, captured an intimate vision of Biarritz, a romance where time had paused." Fennetaux' work reveals the basque landscapes, the southwestern architecture and its maritime lines. Described as an intimate retrospective, the self-made photographer signs a successful publication tinged with nostalgia.
Biarritz has this power to attract, tease, absorb, inspire, intrigue, and captivate anyone who comes its way, like a delicate fishing net. For those who’ve ever spent a week, a summer or a life in Biarritz, you’ll remember the glassy mornings at la Côte des Basques, these perfect symmetric lines taking shape on the frozen sea, the quiet face of La Villa Belza, this old lady overlooking the endless Atlantic ocean. You’ll remind the oysters’ smell at Les Halles food market on a Sunday morning combined with the laughs of night owls and loud voices of early birds. The red wine stains on your white shirt echoing the purple skies on the horizon at sunset, the impressive lighthouse sitting on its throne, the immaculate pleated curtains of L'Hotel du Palais, the necessary daily workout required by Les 100 marches to go surfing, the cool guys, the cool girls, the shameless tourists, the tormented artists and authentic craftsmen… Biarritz is what you want to see. Sometimes lively, sometimes rainy, almost Schizophrenic, but always there.
Used to be a small fishing village connected to the sea since the 12th century, when it was first established as a whaling settlement, Biarritz became one of the most famous resort town in the world. However, Biarritz still remains a sweet hometown for some locals. In his second publication, Mathias Fennetaux gives us his personal vision of the French coastal town, both through saturated color and black and white shots.
Over the years, the French photographer became one of the most renowned artists of the surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding scene. Using melancholia as a common thread, Fennetaux' two books manage to turn an image into a memory.
Discover more of Mathias Fennetaux's work on his website.
