The title for Alec Soth's show at the Jeu de Paume - "The Space Between Us" - refers to his idea of the portrait: "If the photograph represents something, it's the space between me and the subject." The exhibition features a selection of works from three of his best-known series: "Sleeping by the Mississippi", "Niagara", and "Dog Days, Bogotá".
"Sleeping by the Mississippi" is the fruit of seven trips by van along the banks of "the third coast of the United States." These large-format colour photographs - landscapes, interiors, portraits, objects and personal souvenirs - present eclectic images of an initiatory journey.
"Niagara" is a complex ensemble juxtaposing images of the famous falls with those of lovers, love letters and even rubbish. Soth investigated love, desire and its aftermath and tried to build his own metaphorical "Niagara".
"Dog Days, Bogotá" is a series of photographs Soth took in Bogotá, where he and his wife adopted their little girl. He made the series for the child, drawing beauty out of a world of crumbling buildings, animals and humanity.
Alec Soth is a Minneapolis-based photographer born in 1969 and a Magnum Nominee since 2004.
Alec Soth: The Space Between Us
Until 15 June
Jeu de Paume - Concorde
1, place de la Concorde
75008 Paris
www.jeudepaume.org
T: +33 (0)1 47 03 12 50
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