shashasha

“A new star shone as high as my nose
The tip of my cigar
I was thinking absentmindedly about Paris
And each star in the sky was replaced at times by the face of someone I know”
― from “Paris” by Blaise Cendrar (Ménilmontant epigraph)

With a light touch and Parisian charm, Thomas Boivin has photographed the first few months of his life after moving to the Parisian neighborhood of Ménilmontant in late 2009. Boivin offers glimpses of his apartment, a cluttered safe haven; the neighborhood’s cafes and streets, usually decorated with cafe and an open newspaper; friends coming and going; strangers and acquaintances passing by. His images seem to capture the totality of the things and the scenes they depict. In Boivin’s photographs, there is an extraordinary quality to the bottles of wine arranged on a bistro shelf, the fleeting glance of a woman, or the way a sweater folds over the back of a chair.

“Still lifes, street life, friends and strangers alike are gathered here in what is a personal evocation of these years. Yet I hope that they convey a feeling that is not only mine, but distinctly Parisian, and might echo the memories of whoever lived the first years of his adult life in the North East of Paris.”
― Thomas Boivin

For more information, we recommend the special feature “What, no Eiffel Tower?” in the Guardian.