‘Youthhood’ is the latest project of photographer Alexandre Faraci. It is about ‘intellectual Schèmes’ young people develop while they understand the world around them and attain intelligence and maturity.

Alexandre Faraci was born in Orange in France and currently he lives in Berlin where he works as a freelance photographer. His photography is an assessment and analysis of phycho-sociaological phenomena. There’s a larger a varied body of his work available on his website. A short dialogue with him about his photography is as below :

Please tell me about yourself and your relationship with photography. How does having an education in photography help you in your routine work?

After studying in Paris, I decided to go to Berlin where I assisted Oliver Eglin in various photographic projects before going on my own.

My work is essentially based on sociological reports. I try to capture those moments that everybody can see, but that are still intimate.

To me, education in photography is a tool that helps me in my process. Technical knowledge is something you learn with time. Culture is an act: it drives art and the way I treat my subjects.

All these influences allow me to better define my subject and find the right angle to make the main idea stand out. We are all influenced by someone, something that, when we were younger, gave us the envy to do this job. And that’s what gives lyricism to our work.

What is the core idea of your project ‘Youthhood’? I’ve crossed 40 this year and treat myself as a middle-aged man. To me it represents the chaos and confusion a ‘Youthhood’ has to undergo in order to be come-of-age or attain maturity. Do you agree with my observation?

‘Youthhood’ is a project that speaks about the transition from teenage years to adulthood - the transition that discovers life through all its limits, yet unknown. This transition is well known and recognized. Jean Piaget, a French philosopher, dedicated a big part of his life to it. He called it ‘Schèmes’.

In this series, I’m not looking for no theatrical staging, no lie. These moments are raw and captured in the instant and they represent this rebel youth.

I don’t think we should see in them chaos, but more the escape we all wanted from life at this time. The refuse to take our responsibilities, to face our obligations and become what others wanted us to become.

I’d like to know about your other projects as well as about your creative methods or critical approaches to shooting:

“We always have a million projects in mind, the hardest thing is always to bring them to life and know if they will sparkle interest”.

Sociological reports involve always having my camera on me and this is my main approach (like a lot of photographers do). I’ve been working on a series on Galeries Lafayette tourists lately, but giving the recent events in Paris, streets were pretty empty.

I found link to your website on a page where your travel images of Bulgarian 7 lakes were featured but I didn’t find them on your site. Is that because you wish to exclusively display your documentary/fine-art work and consider it of having more value and aesthetics than travel/landscapes?

Indeed, this series does not appear on my website. I simply wish to maintain a photographic linearity. It does not mean this series is not important to me, because it is. It was a more personal project, a travel I always wanted to make with my friends. I highly recommend it, magical landscapes similar to Iceland.

I guess you prominently shoot with film cameras. Do you also use any digital cameras?

I used the Zenith-E for a while, a very good Russian camera. But I recently discovered the FujiX-100S! It never leaves me, I swear by it.

Tell me about your achievements, awards, publications, or any photobook that you intend to publish:

I recently exhibited my work in Paris during the “Experiences Art Fair” event during November 28th through December 8, 2015 with other very talented artists. It was a beautiful exhibition with several contemporary photographers. A book? No, I’m not there yet. Publishing is something very significant to me. It should be about a very strong subject. Every photographer has one, something that will follow him all his life. This project, I have it in the corner of my head but it will take a lot of time to bring to life. I hope it will be ready next year.

Tell me about your influences and favorite stuff:

Martin Parr is my first reference. His work and analysis will stay an example to me. I love Amy Stein’s photographic work and her portraits are form a rare intensity. And lastly, Ryan Mc Ginley for his vision of the nudes in the 21st century.

All photos © Alexandre Faraci : Website