Paris noir : George Hallett, William Melvin Kelley & James Barnor

Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière is pleased to present a segment of the exhibition Paris Noir, a project presented under the Échos Paris noir label in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou. The exhibition showcases the work of three major photographic figures: George Hallett, William Melvin Kelley, and James Barnor, each of whom, in their own way, documented the artistic and intellectual movements of the African and Afro-descendant diasporas during the second half of the 20th century. The exhibition, which will be on view at the gallery from March 20 to May 17, 2025, explores the connections between the African continent, the United States, Paris and London, highlighting transnational cultural dynamics and the artistic commitment to recognition and emancipation.

 

The work of South African photographer George Hallett is presented under the curatorship of Christine Eyene. This section of the exhibition explores different periods of his work, including his documentation of District Six (a Cape Town neighborhood whose demolition began under apartheid in the late 1960s), his photographs taken in London, Paris, and Amsterdam during the 1970s and 1980s, and his studio experimentations. Particular emphasis is placed on his role in publishing, with images that illustrated the covers of Heinemann's African Writers Series, highlighting the dialogue between his photographs and literature. George Hallett (1942-2020) was a photographer renowned for his commitment to documenting social and political realities. Choosing exile due to the discrimination imposed by apartheid, he settled in Europe in 1970, where he became a key figure in the artistic and intellectual scene of the African diasporas. His vision, combining portraiture and reportage, sensitively captures the lives of exiles and communities struggling for recognition of their rights. His work, imbued with humanity and resilience, remains a fundamental landmark in the history of this period.

This exhibition is the first retrospective in France showcasing the photographic work of writer William Melvin Kelley, unveiling a previously unseen series of fourteen works that offer an intimate view of Black cultural life in Paris during the 1960s. Capturing the everyday life of African-American intellectual and activist circles, his photographs reveal a pivotal moment when Paris was a place of exchange and reflection for many artists and thinkers. William Melvin Kelley (1937-2017) was an American writer and photographer whose work interrogates representations of identity and the realities of racism in the United States. Born in New York and raised in the Bronx, he left the United States in 1967 following the assassination of Malcolm X and settled in Paris with his wife, artist Aiki Kelley. Inspired by the literary figures of exile, such as James Baldwin and Chester Himes, he developed a photographic practice influenced by his encounter with Henri Cartier-Bresson, capturing moments in the life of the African and African-American diasporas in Paris with his Pentax camera. His photographic work, long kept private, is now considered an essential testimony of the African-American presence in France on the eve of May 1968 and within the context of the civil rights struggles in the United States.

 

The bookstore space is dedicated to the work of James Barnor, a leading figure in Ghanaian and diasporic photography. In dialogue with the works of William Melvin Kelley and George Hallett, this exhibition features a selection of photographs taken in the 1960s in London for Drum magazine, an influential publication founded in South Africa in 1951, symbolizing the anti-apartheid movement. Born in Ghana in 1929, James Barnor is a key figure in the visual history of the African diaspora. After starting his career in Accra in the 1950s, he moved to London in 1959, where he became a close witness to the social and cultural evolution of the African and African-American communities in the UK. Among his portraits is one of artist Bill Hutson, whose work is also part of the exhibition.

Delicately capturing the aspirations and challenges of a transformative era, James Barnor’s work spans both studio portraits and candid street photography.