Something is happening in Paris

We don’t need to introduce Paris. The world already knows what this city represents in terms of fashion, art and culture. 

Dynamic, challenging, wild, eclectic are some of the words that these young artists used to define the Paris art scene nowadays.

ALPHA MEDY

Photographer
IG: alphamedy

Medy has been the responsible for collecting the vision we share here now.

He took his self-portrait at Aliocha’s place, one of his best friends with whom he shares his passion for photography. This space becomes a working place where to exchange ideas with the loved ones, something pretty symbolic in his creations.

What’s it like to share a creative workspace with another photographer in Paris, a city known for its competitive and intense work environment? 

I think that ‘competition’ in a big city like Paris is really a question of personality. Personally, it’s never bothered me. Of course you’ll always come across people who try to put you down or who aren’t nice to you and they are playing sneaky, but in the end I almost say to myself that it’s all part of the game.

It just makes me want to surpass myself when I see all these great artists around me, in the end we tend to compare ourselves a lot but I think you just have to concentrate on yourself (it’s something that’s still under construction even for me).

And then I believe in karma, I’m convinced that sending good energy to other artists and helping each other if possible will always be beneficial, maybe I’m wrong but hey who knows!

More about Medy’s work: https://www.instagram.com/alphamedy/

HANNAH ROSELIN

Film directress / Filmmaker
IG: hannahrosselin

Hannah’s work reflects her personality: playful, bright, with profound narratives shining in her eyes, and a strong determination and energy to evolve everything. 

MOITIÉ GUERRE, for which she just won the best international documentary at the Nikki film festival in Benin, could be a great example of the description above.

She gets inspired by humans and the world, so the best way for her to work is to go at different coffee places in Paris or wherever she is and to write her stories right there. In the pictures, Hannah is at her dear friend Theodoros’ restaurant, ΜΑΡΙΑΣ Paris.

How do you connect humanity and art?

I can say that humanity fueled my desire to tell stories. I take my inspiration from real life and from many exciting narratives I am hearing in my documentary work. I don’t feel I have something to invent, I just keep my ears open.

Some Hannah’s work:

Jean Paul Gaultier – https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ck8NF8YozB0/

SELFINA

Stylist
IG: selfina_33

She flows from Rap & Hip Hop culture to all related with street and sporty aesthetics that rise in fashion codes. 

Paris is the place where the roots of the world mix and create something really strong, pure and unique. And Selfina represents a very important part of what this and the Parisian street culture means. 

The photo shows her standing in front of an African fabric store that caters to her cultural roots. The shop is located in the bustling area of Chateau Rouge, Paris, which is known for its vibrant city culture. This spot is a favorite destination for her to purchase textiles and embrace her ancestry.

What is it like for a woman to start working in the male-dominated rap industry?

I feel that sometimes being a woman in this industry can be very complicated, but the experiences I’ve had have been wonderful, except for one, so for the last 5 years everything’s been fine.

On the other hand, I think it’s very powerful to be a woman in a man’s world and still manage to get ahead while being respected. Of course, rap has a very controversial image due to rampant sexism. Sometimes I find it hard to project myself into a project where the artist has been a vulgar misogynist, and then sometimes I remember that the human being is only the human being and the man is only the man.

More about Selfina’s work:

adidas Paris – https://www.instagram.com/p/CmD8i16Im31/

LOUISE

Ceramist
IG: cmoilebigboss

Ceramic is related to the rebirth of love for natural textures and materials that we see in art, home decor and fashion. We go back to our roots, we go back to the origin. And for a while, we’ve been seeing that the most claimed trends are those most closely linked to the simplicity of nature and existence. 

In the picture, Louise is at her ceramic atelier where she’s spending most of her time.

What is the feeling of transforming a lump of clay into a beautiful creation? How is it to start with such raw, primitive material and shape it into something artistic?

I just love the relation that raw material develops within me. The feeling of creating something from scratch, especially how I can never keep control of the material and how the clay has its own ways. Of course, the idea of crafting objects and entities that will inhabit and embody daily spaces gives me a lot of satisfaction. I also see how the interaction between my imaginary and the material takes form without my consent. It is very special to me to think about something without drawing or writing and to experience it being made by my hands with the magic relation of the glaze, the heat and the air.

More about Louise’s work: https://www.instagram.com/cmoilebigboss/

NOURA DJURIC

Painter
IG: nouradjuric_

In the photos, Noura is having her first solo exhibition in Paris, which is very significant city for her. She currently resides between Paris and Athens, and this exhibition represents the first time that she shows her Athens’ works in Paris, melting her life sides together.

Noura represents an old and deep soul inhabiting an eternal young life. Her art has the Bohemian spirit that emerges with a pretty fresh aesthetic. Through her creations, she shows her multiple faces from a very natural and romantic point of view that evokes the dreamlike.

How is it for an oil painter like you to deal with the eternal rush that moves everything nowadays?

To be honest, the question of rhythm and time in today’s society is very important to me. I feel lucky to be an oil painter, because the slowness of my medium forces me to a form of patience that belongs to another time, and one that is being lost more and more.

Today we’re inundated with images, we lose focus very quickly, and oil painting forces us to concentrate, to stop for a moment, both as a painter and as a viewer. It’s in total contradiction with the general rhythm, which is frantic, stressful and quickly evaporates.

Even when it comes to life stakes, let’s say, when I think of my career I seem to think of it in a global and rather distant vision, more in decades than years, artistic paths float a little above reality. But of course, we’re still influenced by the pressure to produce a lot and quickly.

Nevertheless when I’m in the studio, time stands still.

More about Noura’s work: https://www.instagram.com/nouradjuric_/

LADJI

Artist
IG: ladji___diaby

Ladji’s creations make you feel confused because you don’t really understand how they are created, you can even think that they are photos. But once you know, you just get crazy. He’s using color pencils and pens only. As he says ‘they are absolutely not expensive, and also it lets me take time to read again and finally understand each image’. 

In the pictures, he is at his atelier at Beaux-Arts Paris where he’s studying. So we can say that we can see Ladji in his second home immersed in creation.

How is the process to get so realistic images with the materials that you use? How does it feel inside of you? What about the images and characters that you choose for your creations?

I don’t think and process my work under a realistic prism. It’s more a way to give my trust to my own reality and human condition and the objects and images that compose them. Technics don’t matter, love and humor are my only way to feel the correctness of my gestures. 

And for the images and characters, I choose the same thing. I just take images of people I wish one day in my life I would like to be like them; like my mom, the rapper and other artists I love. Each piece is like a love letter.

Some Ladji’s work:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CrIywEooXRz/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqk093io9ft/

Intense city, full of contrast and cultural mixes that make it unique. A place with a big personality and cultural codes crossing the world since history exists. Parisians had been seeing it changing in the last years and the wildness of the city is feeling even more. Let’s see what’s next in the city of love.