Florent Meng Lechevallier
Born in 1982
Lives and works in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis)
“Visual artist Florent Meng uses images to develop a critical discourse: photography and film are central to his practice, for which he immerses himself in territories structured by border issues, whether political or religious (U.S.A./Mexico, West Bank/Israel, Lebanon…). These rifts are often breeding grounds for authoritarian exercises of power. What is at stake in terms of lives and identities because of these issues, and what kind of resistance strategies are developed as a result?
Based on this dialectic, F. Meng’s long-term series AZ/SN started out as a film shot in the Sonoran Desert, which first brought to his attention the issue of illegal immigration from Mexico. His stays in the area since 2015 have given rise to series of photographs, which he has exhibited as installations. Florent Meng’s work resonates with the world and pursues an aesthetic of sobriety that enables the artist to better grasp the power dynamics that lie at the root of these occurrences.”
Abstract Florent Meng, Françoise Lonardoni, 2020
Translated by Lucy Pons, 2020
© Adagp, Paris