Memory Lane | Special edition

“I discovered Corbeil in 2017, where the L'Œil Urbain festival was presenting my work Smoke and Mirrors ,” begins Guillaume Zuili. “When I arrived in the city, the unique architecture immediately struck me. Industrial buildings from the beginning of the last century were there, right in the city center. They were magnificent. The city was built around the Moulins de Corbeil. That's how the idea of working on industrial heritage was born. I started from the center with the Moulin as a cathedral, then I expanded my circle to other industries that have left their mark on this city. Notably Helio, which is a gigantic printing works. And then others that lie dormant before disappearing. Or that have disappeared and whose traces are still there.”

For his second collection published by Maison CF, Guillaume Zuili tackles a new urban territory, that of Corbeil-Essonnes. At the invitation of the L'Œil urbain festival, which brings together the biggest names in contemporary photography every spring, he is taking up residence for the year 2019. Using a view camera, a medium-format camera, and an Olympus Pen, he creates protean images, surrealist interpretations of an urban heritage marking the geography of a territory. The forms follow one another and link together throughout the pages, unfolding a cinematic story with a thriller atmosphere. Two texts, a preface and postface, are written by Christine Ollier, an art historian who has presented Guillaume Zuili's work several times, as well as Julie Corteville, chief heritage curator and director of the Île-de-France Heritage and Inventory Department.

Guillaume Zuili (born 1965) is a French photographer from the VU' agency, based in Los Angeles. His work explores European cities and the American myth through experimental film techniques (double exposure, Chromoskedasic, Lith), oscillating between documentary and abstraction. His series LA Chromos, Smoke and Mirrors and Urban Jungle reveal a unique and timeless aesthetic.