Les Rencontres D'Arles 2025: Disobedient Images And Phenomenal Photography

Forbes

07-08-2025

Tony Albert and David Charles Collins at les Rencontres d'Arles. Sky Sharrock/ Tony Albert and David Charles Collins
More Than a Festival
Every summer, the city of Arles becomes a crossroads of heritage and contemporary vision—not just through Les Rencontres d'Arles, but also via its UNESCO‑listed landmarks, Van Gogh legacy, and the wild beauty of the Camargue.
In its 56th edition, the photography festival, running until 5th October, embraces the provocatively defiant theme Disobedient Images, under the directorship of Christoph Wiesner. Drawing inspiration from philosopher Édouard Glissant and anthropologist Alban Bensa, the festival invites us to consider images as acts of resistance, cultural dialogue, and identity reinvention—from Australia and Brazil to North America and beyond
The 56th edition of Les Rencontres d'Arles brings together powerful, boundary-pushing photography under the theme Disobedient Images . Inspired by writer Édouard Glissant, this year's festival explores identity, cultural exchange, and photography as a tool of resistance and transformation. Exhibitions span historic and modern venues across Arles, showcasing global talent from Australia to Brazil, the Caribbean to North America.
Beyond the festival, Arles itself is a summer destination worth exploring. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it's home to Roman monuments like the Amphitheatre and Saint-Trophime Cathedral, and has deep ties to Vincent van Gogh, who painted some of his most iconic works here. Don't miss the Fondation Van Gogh , currently hosting a major Sigmar Polke show featuring original Van Gogh pieces. For nature lovers, the nearby Camargue—known for its wild beauty, pink salt flats, and flamingos—is a must-visit.
Here are my top highlights from Les Rencontres d'Arles 2025 and Arles Summer Exhibitions including; On Country: Photography from Australia ; Keisha Scarvile Alma ; Ancestral Futures: Brazilian Contemporary Scene ; Yves Saint Laurent and Photography ; Nan Goldin–winner of the 2025 Kering Women in Motion Award; and the Lët'z Arles Luxembourg Photography award 2025 winner Carine Krecké.
Some off-grid highlights include; Belle.beau; Sigmar Polke at Fondation Van Gogh; After Hopper at Arles Gallery; and Etienne Racine.
1. On Country: Photography from Australia
On Country: Photography from Australia highlights the profound spiritual and cultural ties between Aboriginal Australians and the land. Through powerful photographic works, Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists explore how photography serves as a form of resistance, truth-telling, and cultural survival amidst environmental and political threats. The term 'Country' refers to far more than geography-it encompasses family, language, identity, and ancestral responsibility.
Curated by Elias Redstone, Kimberley Moulton, Pippa Milne, and Brendan McCleary, the exhibition reclaims photography from its colonial legacy and redefines it through community, care, and connection. The artists challenge traditional power structures in image-making, offering a vital view of Australia's layered, often painful, history and the resilience of its First Peoples.
Aton Atem photographs at les Rencontres d'Arles © Lee Sharrock
Standout works include a series of images by Tony Albert and David Charles Collins depicting kids posing as Superhero charactres on of trashed cars in a junkyard. The photographs were shot in Warakurna, a tiny Indigenous community of less than 300 people, bordering Western Australia. Sydney-based photographer David Charles Collins teamed up with Indigenous artist Tony Albert to document an art project with local children and this sowed the seed for the Superhero shoot.
Rencontres d'Arles director Christoph Wiesner has been quoted as saying that the 2025 festival marks a 'monumental moment in the recognition of Australian photography', and it's true that there is an impressive mix of established and emerging voices vying for attention in On Country, including; James Tylor's stunning monochrome abstract landscapes; Aton Atem's captivating portraiture; Maree Clarke's unforgettable black and white portrait series Ritual and ceremony ; Michael Cook's powerful images commenting on racist tropes including Majority Rule (Bus); and Lisa Sorgini's beautifully surreal images capturing the wonder of nature and the innocence of childhood.
Michael Cook 'Majority Rule (Bus)'/ Michael Cook Michael Cook
2. Nan Goldin – Stendhal Syndrome
Nan Goldin returns to Arles with Stendhal Syndrome (2024), a powerful slideshow blending photographs of Classical and Baroque art with intimate portraits of her friends and lovers. Narrated in her own voice and set to a haunting soundtrack by Soundwalk Collective and Mica Levi, the work reflects on beauty, emotional connection, and the mythological dimensions of love.
Structured around Ovid's Metamorphoses , Goldin's work elevates personal history to the level of epic storytelling. Her portraits assert the significance of chosen family and community, culminating in a retelling of the eponymous syndrome—a collapse in the face of overwhelming beauty.
Nan Goldin. Young Love, 2024. Courtesy of the artist / Gagosian Courtesy of the artist / Gagosian
3. Keisha Scarville – Alma
Keisha Scarville's Alma is a deeply personal exploration of grief and presence following the death of her mother in 2015. Using her mother's clothing and objects, Scarville creates black-and-white portraits that evoke spiritual traditions and ancestral memory, making absence feel vividly tangible.
Using every corner of the darkened Salle Henri Comte as a background for the images, Scarville creates a pathway through images eulogising her Mother, by juxtaposing prints on the walls with opaque pieces of material suspended from the ceiling like spectres.
Scarville explores loss, absence and memory through her use of photography, and finds inspiration in spirit photography, the ancestral figure of Egungun, and clothing that belonged to her late mother. Staging photographs with herself wearing her mother's clothes, she invokes hot spirit and creates a moving meditation on grief.
Keisha Scarville 'Alma'. Photograph by Lee Sharrock © Lee Sharrock
4. Yves Saint Laurent and Photography
Yves Saint Laurent and Photography explores Yves Saint Laurent's deep engagement with photography, featuring iconic images by legends such as Avedon, Beaton, and Klein. Over 80 photographs trace the couturier's evolving image and legacy, highlighting how photography helped shape his global influence.
A second section showcases over 200 archival materials-contact sheets, ad campaigns, personal photos-offering a behind-the-scenes look at how photography was essential to Saint Laurent's brand. Curated by Simon Baker and Elsa Janssen, this exhibition bridges fashion history and visual culture.
Peter Knapp. ELLE, September 1965. Cocktail dresses from the Fall-Winter 1965 haute couture collection, also known as the 'Tribute to Piet Mondrian.' Courtesy of Yves Saint Laurent / Jeanne Lanvin-Castillo / Peter Knapp.
5. Ancestral Futures: Brazilian Contemporary Scene
Ancestral Futures showcases a new wave of Brazilian artists challenging colonial narratives through photography, video, and collage. Drawing from visual archives and cultural traditions, they center Indigenous, Afro-Brazilian, and LGBTQIA+ voices to reimagine Brazil's identity and future.
Inspired by Ailton Krenak's book Ancestral Future , the artists reject linear progress to propose futures rooted in ancestral knowledge. From AI-driven collages to community archives and body-based performance, the exhibition is a bold, politically charged vision of Brazil's past and potential.
Igi Lọlá Ayedun, Denilson Baniwa, Castiel Vitorino Brasileiro, Rafa Bqueer, Yhuri Cruz, Mayara Ferrão, Collective Lakapoy, Paulo Nazareth, Melissa Oliveira, Lincoln Péricles, Ventura Profana, Glicéria Tupinambá and Gê Viana all bring unique visions and distinct styles to the table, suggesting new ways of creating and manipulating photographic imagery that represent different cultures and voices while pushing the boundaries of the medium.
Ancestral Futures presents a new and generation of artists working with photography, video and collage to address contemporary Brazil society and history by reinterpreting its visual archives and traditions.
Ancestral Futures at les Rencontres d'Arles © Lee Sharrock
6. Carine Krecké – Losing North
Carine Krecké–winner of the Lët'z Arles award 2025–takes over the majestic 17th Century Carmelite Chapelle de la Charité with Losing North , an immersive investigation into the Syrian war. The series was triggered by a series of online images which motivated Krecké's six year mission to research obsessively and merge digital sleuthing with emotional introspection to understand the personal and collective trauma behind the destruction wreaked through war.
Through video, documents, and a haunting scenographic installation, the exhibition becomes a space between fact and fiction. Visitors are invited to navigate this labyrinth of images and stories, questioning how we perceive, process, and participate in the representation of conflict.
Carine Krecké – Losing North. Photograph by Lee Sharrock © Lee Sharrock
7. Sigmar Polke – Beneath the Cobblestones, The Earth , Van Gogh Foundation
This major retrospective at Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles–curated by Bice Curiger–showcases the irreverent, genre-defying work of Sigmar Polke. Sigmar Polke - Beneath the Cobblestones, The Earth spans painting, photography and film, highlighting Polke's experimentation with materials, pop culture, and the visual language of post-war Europe.
The exhibition brings together more than sixty works, including those that have never been presented in public before. Referencing the 1968 slogan 'Beneath the cobblestones, the earth,' the show connects Polke's political edge to Van Gogh's rural symbolism. From alchemical darkroom techniques to satirical media reinterpretations, Polke's work invites viewers to question societal norms and the role of art in uncovering buried truths.
In the opening room are two iconic paintings by Van Gogh– Peasant and Peasant Woman Planting Potatoes and Basket of Potatoes (Nuenen 1885)– that nod to the exhibition's title and are juxtaposed by Polke's witty surrealist work Kartoffelhaus (Potato House) (1967–1990)–a shed-like structure decorated with potatoes. As the exhibition progresses, the mood darkens and we encounter Le jour de gloire est arrivé (1988), a painting juxtaposing triumph and catastrophe, and Sans titre (Palermo ) (1976)–a series of photographs taken of skeletons in the catacombs of Palermo, showing the range of emotions Polke captures with his irreverent art.
Sigmar Polke exhibition at Fondation Van Gogh, Arles © Lee Sharrock © Lee Sharrock
8. Belle Beau
Belle Beau's group show blends Surrealist sensibility with contemporary edge, presenting works across painting, photography, sculpture, and poetry. Artists like Laurent Baude and Stanislas Blohorn stand out—Blohorn's haunting photographs of bulls slaughtered during the pandemic serve as memorials and cultural commentary on Camargue traditions.
Baude's neon-lit bathtub sculpture and Antonie le Roux-Dhuys' playful digital wordplay exemplify the show's intellectual and poetic energy. With nods to Dada, Van Gogh, and Ai Weiwei, Belle Beau champions art without borders and rooted in emotional and cultural memory.
Stanislas Blohorn at Belle Beau gallery, Arles © Lee Sharrock
9. After Hopper – Arles Gallery
Anne Eliayan and Christian Pic (AECP) pay tribute to the art of Edward Hopper in After Hopper , a painterly photography series that evokes the American master painters iconic use of light, solitude, and narrative tension. Using photography enhanced by hand-painting, AECP reinterpret Hopper's imagery in a distinctly Arlesian light.
Merging photography with storytelling, AECP reimagines classics like Hockney's Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy– itself a Hopper homage–and seminal existentialist American scene captured by Hopper in his 1942 painting Nighthawk s. AECP have created a unique technique merging the photographic oeuvre with painting in an exploration of liminality and silence, leading to a dialogue architecture and human presence.
Anne Eliayan and Christian Pic (AECP) 'After Hopper' at Arles Gallery © Lee Sharrock
10. Etienne Racine – Solo Exhibition
Canadian street photographer Etienne Racine brings a raw, poetic edge to Arles with striking black-and-white images pasted throughout the city and in his gallery show. From night-time Raves and nocturnal Parisian café scenes evoking photographic masters such as Doisneau, to beaches and backstreets, Racine's work captures the vibrant pulse of everyday life.
Racine blends technical mastery with a lived understanding of humanity, shaped by his backgrounds in DJing, anthropology, and Buddhism. His photography functions as a visual diary–an existential journey through chaos, connection, and the search for peace.
Etienne Racine in Arles/ Photograph by Lee Sharrock © Lee Sharrock