Outdated hairstyles, quirky looks and colorful make-up… At the European House of Photography (MEP) in Paris, Rachel Fleminger Hudson reproduces the world of the seventies through shots that seem straight out of the golden age of the Beatles. However, the 25-year-old, a graduate of Central Saint Martins Art University in London, did not know the 1970s and reproduced fake vintage shots. The 2022 winner of the Dior Prize for Photography and Visual Arts for Young Talents at the Rencontres d’Arles, frees herself from modern codes to create a journey through time. She tells us how.
LE FIGARO. – In your exhibition at the MEP, you explore the imagination of the 1970s. How did your interest in this decade arise?
Rachel FLEMINGER HUDSON. – My fascination with the 70s dates back to childhood. My parents both worked in the art world and transmitted to me from an early age this artistic interest for the 70s. As a teenager, I was rocked by films, music and culture. of this decade. The 1970s are all the more interesting socially and artistically as they mark the turning point between the end of modernism and the beginning of postmodernism. They are also imbued with a very pronounced and very identifiable aesthetic, which can seem strange, sometimes. There was this kind of freedom in people, and especially in their looks. These extravagant, colorful outfits, and these very original haircuts inspire me enormously in my work.
Does your art hide a form of nostalgia, of regret for this bygone era?
I’m probably nostalgic for the 70s, which is quite strange since I never lived in that period. This decade unconsciously takes me back to my childhood. In my creations, I do not try to convey to the public this regret of the past, because nostalgia is not my creative engine. Through my photographs, I reproduce the atmosphere of the seventies in the same way that I could recreate the atmosphere of another decade. I am also interested in the 80s and 90s. By exploring the individuals, society and history of the seventies, I seek to share the expression of an individuality, a social class and a bygone culture. I’m definitely not trying to say, “It was better before.”
Where did you draw your inspiration to reproduce these shots so realistic?
By carrying out a huge amount of documentation, whether in films, plays, books or in the archives. All this research allowed me to create the clothing and style of my characters. But sometimes inspiration just came to me. I could spot someone wearing a very original pair of vintage shoes. And instinctively, I visualized one of my protagonists wearing these same shoes. Then, very naturally, I imagined the rest of his attire and his physical appearance. Finally, we can travel in time very easily.
Your art is essentially about the past. Could you photograph characters from a more current period?
Absolutely, but that would be more difficult. These days, the aesthetic around us is blurry and fragmented. Whether in art or fashion, everyone is recycling images and symbols from the past. There is no visual identity specific to the 2020s, unlike the 70s, 80s or 90s. All of this is confusing. I try so hard to be inspired by our current period, but I fail most of the time because I do not find meaning in it. We live in a world where social, political and ecological issues are very anxiety-provoking. For the moment, my work is in total opposition to these themes. This period seems too dark and uncertain to me, and I doubt its artistic potential. Certainly I am starting my career, but in the future I have every intention of evoking these themes in my art.
Practical information: Rachel Fleminger Hudson at the Studio of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, exhibition to be discovered until October 1, 2023 at 5/7 rue de Fourcy, 75004, Paris.
