From lifting 26-kilo weights, to tense muscles, to consecutive push-ups... From March 7th until May 19th, 2024, LE BAL is dedicating a unique exhibition to the athletic images of Marine Peixoto, the 4th laureate of the LE BAL/ADAGP Young Creation Award in 2021. Through more than 200 prints captured between 2020 and 2023, her "physical feat" as a photographer explores the municipal sports field of Bercy Street Workout and its regulars from every angle.
©Marine Peixoto / ADAGP, Paris, 2024
Bending to the Rigor of Training
It was in 2020 that Medhy, looking to expand actions and projects to turn Bercy Street Workout into a real sports ground, asked Marine Peixoto to take her camera to capture the place. Like athletes who sculpt their bodies on machines to reach their goals, the photographer lets herself be drawn into this routine and sharpens her professional eye to achieve the best possible result. She documents "from Sunday to Sunday" the daily life of this unique place that Medhy controls and for which he has only one mantra: "No day off". Exercise, training, regularity... For art.For those who generally enjoy "living in the moment," the challenge is huge.
©Marine Peixoto / ADAGP, Paris, 2024
The alliance of photography and sports becoming one
In black and white, which does not alter the message of each of the photos. On the contrary, the images transport us into the excitement of this place so unique. By immersing ourselves fully, we can almost hear the sound of weights sliding on metal bars, we can almost see sweat drops beading on bodies. Through the angles she chooses, Marine Peixoto manages to blend in perfectly to become one with this terrain of the 12th arrondissement. "« I do photography, but above all, I work with what puts me on edge ; I want to keep alive both my work and the connection with what is dear to me », she declares.
