Yves Trémorin, "Vikings"

Yves Trémorin holds a recognized position in contemporary French photography, both for the coherence of his work and for his way of reinterpreting ancient forms in a current visual language. His approach explores photography's capacity to transform reality and shape imaginations, through tense images where aesthetic research and expressive power come together. Created between 2012 and 2025, the series *Vikings* extends this approach by focusing on the persistence of Nordic myths in contemporary imagination. The artist does not reconstruct history: he reactivates figures and symbols through a clean aesthetic. The tight framing isolates the subjects and gives them symbolic weight, while Lambda prints, controlled lighting, and neutral backgrounds place the images in an almost pictorial and timeless space. The project originates from Richard Fleischer's film *The Vikings*, whose first scenes, shot at Fort La Latte near the artist’s residence, trigger an exploration in Normandy. Inspired in part by the *Poetic Edda* by Régis Boyer, Trémorin conducts a photographic "raid" along the Seine. He favors natural settings where landscapes, objects, animals, and human figures intertwine. The images create a symbolic geography. Water, in its various forms, evokes the origins of the world in Nordic mythology. Rocks, forests, and reliefs become loaded motifs; some places suggest ancient encampments, while others, marked by industry, recall visions of Ragnarök. The ruins of Jumièges or burned façades reveal a looming threat, while the snow brings Normandy closer to Northern landscapes. The series also features figures inspired by the Edda—Odin, Hodr, Thor, Freya, Freyr, or Tyr—who interact with anonymous characters, anchoring the myth in the everyday. The animals refer to great legendary figures like Fenrir, Hugin and Munin, or Sleipnir, participating in a narrative where reality and imagination blend. By overlaying historical, mythological, and contemporary references, *Vikings* sits at the intersection of documentary and symbolic fiction. The images offer a sensitive experience that questions how myths continue to inhabit landscapes, memories, and perspectives. Envisioned by the Artothèque of Caen in collaboration with the City of Falaise, the exhibition presented at Château de la Fresnaye reveals for the first time the entirety of the series, still largely unpublished, and highlights the scope of Yves Trémorin's work. *Exhibition labeled Bicentennial of Photography 2027* *Practical information:* All public Free access