RENCONTRE
Training in Dakar by Guillaume Landry
Behind the lens of our studio, hidden away in Montreuil, is our friend Guillaume Landry: shaved head, tattoos and the imposing build of an English boxer. A good number of collections have been highlighted on the e-shop over the last ten years thanks to his keen eye and taste for detail. But that's not the subject today, as we met him to talk about his personal work, which is more about sports, which he himself is passionate about.
Some time ago, he inaugurated an exhibition at the Montgolfière, "The New Olympians", which focused on sportsmen and women from all walks of life. He has just returned from Dakar, with a bag full of snapshots taken on the spot, which further nourish this muscular project.
Sport plays an important role in your work. What is your relationship with it?
As I remember, I have always been a sportsman since I was a kid. I did a lot of sports, both team and individual. In my work as a photographer, I had never used this approach. I was more focused on fashion or portraits...etc.
But in the last four years, I realised the place it had taken in my life, and it was natural that I started to take portraits of sportsmen and women. In the end, sport is a very unifying thing, and a good way to meet people.
Often these are combat sports, such as boxing or wrestling. What are the reasons for this attraction to these practices rather than other disciplines?
These are sports that speak to me, simply because I practice them regularly, in the case of boxing at least.
In spite of the intensity of these sports, you never see the slightest hint of aggression in the athletes you immortalise, but rather a form of righteousness, benevolence, pride, almost bringing them to a divine stature. How do you explain this?
In spite of the intensity of these sports, you never see the slightest hint of aggression in the athletes you immortalise, but rather a form of righteousness, benevolence, pride, almost bringing them to a divine stature. How do you explain this?
By the way, how are these photos made, and how do you work on their rendering?
On a technical level, most of my work is shot in medium format 6/7 film. I mainly use colour. Throughout my stay in Dakar, I had to shoot one film in black and white, because I had one left over and I wanted to test it, but I prefer colour. There are lights over there that are so beautiful, that there is no need to do anything, not even processing.
Some time ago, you mounted an exhibition at the Montgolfière called "The New Olympians". Is this project in Dakar a continuation of that?
The "New Olympians" is precisely the idea of showing aspects of sport that are relatively absent from the media. Sportsmen and women, far from the spotlight, and from flashy training rooms. The idea of universality too, with enthusiasts officiating in the dunes of the Sahel as well as in the boxing halls of Essaouira. I like to show that, there are really atmospheres and colours that you can't find anywhere else. At the time of the exhibition, there were archives, with photos taken in Martinique, New York, Los Angeles, Chad, Kenya, Morocco, and now I'm going to add Senegal.
"Sportsmen and women, far from the spotlight, and from flashy training rooms".
It's a project I wanted to continue, and it came at the right time because I had friends who were going to Dakar for the Biennale of Contemporary African Art. They had some space with them and offered me to accompany them. They told me about it on a Saturday, on Sunday I had booked my tickets and two weeks later we were there.
How were you accepted in Dakar? How did you get in touch with the local sportsmen and women?
I contacted a former world champion boxer on Instagram, Souleyman M'Baye, who is retired now and who set up his own club when he came back to Dakar (Keur of Champions). So the first contact I had on the spot was with boxers. I did my little photo session with them, and one thing led to another and I connected with the son of a Senegalese wrestler, who introduced me to his stable (that's what the clubs are called over there), and let me take all the photos I wanted. After that, it happened naturally. I'm not the kind of person who arrives, takes my photos and leaves. I talk to them, I ask them lots of questions that I record, with the idea, in the long run, of making a book.
How do they view the notion of doing sport?
It depends where you go. There are countries I've been to, like Chad, where you can get the impression that they're doing this as a kind of way out to a better life. Except that clearly, there are neither the structures, nor the infrastructure, nor the coaches and equipment. And there are other places like Dakar, where everything is easier.
How do they relate to the body?
They want to be healthy, fast, efficient. They train, like all the sportsmen in the world after all. All I can say is that over there, they are machines, they train 2 hours a day in 45 degrees. In addition to having the body, they have the mind.
What were your impressions of the city, both humanly and in terms of sporting dynamics?
I was really surprised, because it's a very sporty city. There are facilities everywhere! On the corniche in Dakar, for example, there are 200 metres of workout facilities. They get together at the end of the day to train. At the same time, they are very into football. There are matches everywhere. I had rarely seen that. It's really a young, modern, dynamic city.
"It's really a young, modern, dynamic city".
You have already been to Africa several times to do photo essays on this very subject. What differences do you see between Senegal and the other African countries you have visited?
For me, Senegal is similar to my experience in Kenya. These are countries that have kept certain codes in terms of infrastructure and administration. As far as sport is concerned, in Dakar it's really very important, they all do it. Not necessarily with the aim of becoming a professional, but just because they like it. Apart from football, which is very popular, there is also Senegalese wrestling which is really followed. As soon as there is a match, everyone watches.
What was your most memorable encounter?
The one with the wrestlers. You have to imagine yourself in front of men of 1m90 and 100kg. It's a world I really didn't know at all. There is an ancestral side. They took me to the arena where they do their official fights, and it's really huge! There are drums everywhere, the women sing, there is a kind of trance, which really gives a mystical side to this sport. I really want to know more about it. Afterwards, all the people I met are really good. Some of them I'm still in touch with via social networks. For example, a Chadian boxer who sends me videos every time he does a fight. I was really welcomed by all these people. And this, despite the language barrier, since many speak Wolof.
Any future projects you would like to / could tell us about?
In direct connection with this "New Olympians" project, I am taking part in a group exhibition, again at the Montgolfière, in the autumn, where I will be exhibiting some of the photos from this stay in Dakar.
Otherwise, I would like to continue to explore the subject. I feel like I've just scratched the surface. I'd like to go back to Dakar to dig deeper, to take some photos outside of training. I would like them to take me back to their homes, to share moments, to see how they live and to capture the atmosphere of Senegalese wrestling even more. Because wrestling is really their profession. It's a practice that allows young people to get off the streets and earn money. There is no real age limit, as long as you are healthy and strong, you can continue. On that subject I'm thinking of going back by the end of the year.
But to go further, my ultimate goal would be to ride between Benin, Togo, the Ivory Coast and back to Dakar, all in one trip. But for that I need some time and money, so it would be more like two years, the time to find financing.
