Artists in residence

Born in Antananarivo in 1991, Mahefa Dimbiniaina Randrianarivelo is a surrealist photographer from Madagascar.

After having practiced graphic design and digital painting, he chose to work with photography as his primary medium. Inspired by the great names of surrealism such as René Magritte, Claude Cahun, Man Ray, and more recently, Erik Johansson or Gregory Crewdson, his main source of inspiration remains the film director Wes Anderson.

In 2022, he won the Paritana prize, a recognition for contemporary art in Madagascar. His work deals with the role of individualism in the evolution of modern society. Expressing himself through surrealist photography and creative portraiture, his subjects, often human, convey the importance of self-acceptance, of one’s identity, in a very critical society that tends to impose its values on others.

The characters in his work give off an impression of serenity and inspire the search for oneself, one’s dreams, and ambitions. The artist strongly believes that a society can only survive by giving importance to each individual.

ENTRETIEN

You are the recipient of the Prix Paritana and benefit from the residency programme thought by the Cité internationale des arts and the Fondation H. What is the most meaningful part of this experience?

It’s the first time I’ve been to Europe, especially Paris. Discovering such a beautiful city and living in the heart of its culture is a unique experience for me. Living among the residents of the Cité, who come from all over the world, has allowed me to get to know other cultures and values, which feed me not only socially but, above all, culturally and artistically. 

As a photographer, what led you to employ this medium of expression and how did you appropriate it?

I have always been attracted to visual art. I tried my hand at drawing, but I was too focused on technique. Photography, on the other hand, came quite naturally to me. I like to create worlds, to talk about myself and subjects that challenge me. Photography has allowed me to express myself without limits. I love the aspect of photography that represents reality but can be manipulated to show whatever you dream of.  

What projects are you working on during your residency?

Ho Nofy Ihany (Just a dream), is a way for me to talk about my creative process, to show how I write before I think about the concept I want to create, how I choose the location, the props, the models, and the colours I use in my photographic compositions.

Behind this very personal aspect of my project, I also talk about the differences in opportunities that we are confronted with according to our origins, our gender, and our religion; because we live in a world where we feel we have access to everything, but in reality, we are quite restricted in our life choices, which depend on other parameters that we do not always control.

I go through the same process of choice when I create my images. There are subjects that are too sensitive for me to talk about, places I can’t go, and props I can’t find.  

“Andy Rankin, a young curator, has been conducting a two year long unprecedented and necessary research, on the collapse of our civilization, the anthropocene epoch, and collapsology itself. As if reading the history of art in reverse, his curatorial research begins from various artworks and protocols on the brink of disappearance, destruction, or even, ready to be set off in case of emergency.”                      

– M.D.

Between 2012 and 2014, he co-founded Hiatus, la revue, a French self-published review. From 2014 to 2017, he hosted the SUPERFLAT project space, which promoted the emerging contemporary art scene. He has co-founded the curatorial collective Diametre from 2014 to 2019.

From 2015 to 2020, he is a member of the Wonder, a collective of artists based in the suburbs of Paris, a place managed by and for artists.

He is a member of C-E-A, the French association of professional curators, and a member of two think tanks about the collapse of the oil-based civilization and their imaginaries.

“This residency is an incredible chance to establish dialogues with artists from all over the world and to set up new projects.“