Gregory Herpe
Photographer
Verbatim
Yoyo Maeght
Curator of the Pompidou Center & Royal Academy of London; editor
The difficulty of being a photographer...
It seems so simple to press a trigger or to master the technique of a brand-new device, but what about creating an image, new and moving?
Each piano key plays a fair note. The re, mi, fa are the same whether they are played by a child or a virtuoso.
The difficulty begins when it comes by chaining notes, forming a harmony, creating a rhythm.
There are many performers who, through hard work, can finally play a partition. But only a very few composers, because this is the most complex exercise,
compose a melody, give life to musical phrases, imagine silences, or write a poetry in which each sound harmonize with the other.
When this work is accomplished, each creation must incorporate the construction of a comprehensive work.
This is exactly what an artist must do when he chooses photography as an expression, tirelessly composing a personal work while continuously varying subjects,
formats, and colors, and yet always with the same instrument.
Gregory Herpe, his camera in his hand, an eye through the viewfinder, composes while scrutinizing the spectacle of life that is before him.
Each photograph is beautiful individually, then when we discover a series, it is a world that surrenders to us. To traverse his work is to plunge into a universe
whose limits are infinite.
Out of curiosity in the universe of Gregory Herpe, I wanted to know his photographs of Barcelona, this city that Miró made me discover during my adolescence,
at a time when only the Catalan was spoken in the Gothic quarter where my grandfather had the boldness to set up an immense gallery for his Spanish artist
friends, Miró, Tàpies, Chillida, Palazuelo, Saura, Valdes and others …
Without any nostalgia, I hoped to live this tumult of images where the epochs collide, finding the contrast between the Gothic of Santa Maria del Mar and the
immense cranes of the neighboring port.
But with Grégory Herpe no banal cliché, no tourist caricature, I had the impression to recover a friend, when life had separated us and nonetheless, before
these photos, I realized that we had never left.
Infinitely more than to show or to describe, the photographs of Grégory Herpe provoke encounters.
H.R.H. Prince Michael of Yougoslavia
CEO & Photographer
It is a great pleasure and honour for me to write a few words about this extraordinary book of Grégory Herpe.
Thanks to our common friend Elena Lindjo I had an opportunity to meet him in Monaco, and to work with him. It has been a pleasant experience.
He is a very precise artist who knows exactly what he wants, and creates his vision through his camera. I have been impressed by his ease in directing
his models and sending both simple and understandable message.
Grégory truly knows how to capture the imagination though his pictures. They appeal to my sense of harmony and they challenge me in a very pleasant way.
They make me travel beyond what I see. His images are beautiful to look at, and they tell a story of their own.
I also like the way he uses architecture and lines. It gives a feeling of solidity to the imagery which reflects the true essence of the country he photographs.
It is a tribute to Catalonia, a region with a great geographical and historical impact on Europe and the Mediterranean area.
Grégory has his own way to capture simple elements and make them imposing, with a discreet sense of humour. I am delighted by his photos.
He can photograph situations which seem hopeless and introduce hope in his work. He is also very aware of the context in which his subjects live.
He cares to preserve their dignity and to show their humanity.
I am awaiting your next book with anticipation !
Sylvia Gobbel
International Top Model & Helmut Newton's Muse
Gregory Herpe is a humanist and sensitive photographer. His works are the witnesses of our time.
He does not criticize our society, he observes it. His pictures leave no one indifferent, we find ourselves before the mirror of truth.
The one that most of us do not want or cannot see. That’s why Gregory Herpe touches us.
He wakes us up and takes us out of our comfort zone without attacking us, but with gentleness and strength.
Paul Godfrey
Leader of the Brittish electronic band Morcheeba & Producer
Gregory’s photos are a rare thing. Contrast candy for the eyes yet deeper than the darkest soul...
Tina Kieffer
Founder/President of the NGO “Toutes à l’école” & Journalist
From my past with Marie-Claire Magazine I have kept many friend photographers, who sometimes come to report about the Happy Chandara school that
I founded in Phnom Penh.
High quality, colorful images to share the optimism of this cause, which pulls the little Cambodians away from the shantytowns to teach them in a school with
turquoise walls.
So, when Gregory Herpe contacted me to offer me his talent in black and white, I was surprised. Humanitarianism, unlike the press, does not consist in
publishing aesthetics; it is necessary that the images touch the heart so that the gifts affluent.
Then, discovering Gregory’s work, I was convinced.
The strength of its contrasts struck me as its determination to give evidence of the benefits of girls’ education.
And as I was right to trust him …
Using black and white to describe childhood might seem a mistake, except at Happy Chandara where laughter echoes intimate dramas and deprivations.
The drama of its blacks shows in each picture the energy of the girls, who are going to reach for the moon and a brighter future.
The threat of its stormy skies bends to the almost audible joy that unite these images, where chiaroscuro is in the image of life, violent but resilient.
What Gregory has captured resembles to the man I found in him:
a mixture of extreme sensitivity and lapidary strength.
A man as contrasted as his black and white, whose gray infinity never stops to tell the story. Its worst as its best.
Beau van Erven Dorens
Tv host on Dutch TV & Actor
Face to face with a lion, you shouldn't think about it. But the French photographer Gregory Herpe dared to do it.
For seven years he portrayed the king of the animal kingdom and what struck me, the lions have real expressions.
Look at the beauty of it.
It struck me that they are all so characteristic.
To be able to take these pictures, he was sometimes 4 meters away from the lion.
That's very cool...
Ylva-Maria Thompson
Artist & Tv host on Swedish TV
Grégory Herpe’s images convey a disturbing feeling of perturbation and lead the direction of my gaze, often by gazing right back at me.
Even the cars and buses have eyes. The very precise depth of field, the graphic sharpness, the precision in composition makes the photos almost painfully intense.
I have to take a rest, a coffee and a glass of water.
And yet, they are not showing me anything bad, they seem to be captured before – or after – something bad happened.
Some carry a deep solemnity, the face of the Christ in a church in Barcelona, the walls in Belfast with their messages of conflict and loss, the demonstrations in
Paris after the attack on Charlie Hebdo.
Still, I feel the warmth and the humor behind many images, there is still hope.
Or maybe this is just the way it is, some things will never change.
Olivier Dassault
Member of French Parliament & Photographer
Director of perspective in black and white! … without condescension, but with a lot of depth literally and figuratively.
The precision of the framing and the force of the subject call for exchange.
The contrast is so luminous that it restores the image to its color.
In the photographs of Gregory Herpe, I hear the laughter, I see the movement and I feel the anger.
The emotion is captured, the eyes captivated.
Petra Lossen
Director of Petra Lossen Fine Art Gallery in Zurich
Gregory’s works encompasses life in all its facets.
His unique approach addresses the dichotomies felt in our daily lives.
Gregory’s references span challenging circumstance of creatures to the effect of politics on our lives.
He discovers and presents universal similarities and ironies that the viewer can empathize with.
Gregory’s theme is love, love with all its complications, complexities, and absurdities.
His vast, dramatic sketches illuminate and challenge our perception of the role we play daily on the earth and the significance that we apply to it.
Illustrated in a silence and reserve he holds our attention and through his sharing we become deeply committed to this theme together.
He continually contrasts for us, what is and the perception what we believe to be.
His skies serve as silent witnesses, powerful prosecutors of the scenes which are taking place below on the earth.
We are confronted with loneliness, with silence that stand in contrast to the actual.
Gregory’s artistic dialogue strike a balance that is never overpowering or overwhelming.
It distances the viewer from the evil with reassuring the viewer through his belief as love as a bridge to hope.
The fantastic natural appearances, which reappear constantly, comfort the viewer despite the heavenly accusation.
The diminutive representation of the human appears as a victim but in reality, represents a strength that will succeed and overcome adversity.
Gregory probes this critical time we are faced with today in his work.
It can be humorous sometimes cynical but always life reaffirming.
Peap Tarr
Cambodian Street Artist
Both my Wife Lisa Mam and I had the true pleasure of meeting Gregory while he was in Phnom Penh Cambodia working on his photographic project.
We truly had a very inspirational experience while chatting with Gregory and also travelling around our City Phnom Penh, talked about all things creative
and we could see that Gregory is a person of great passion and substance, he is not just taking photos for the sake of taking a photo but he is very focused
on his subject matter and visually translating a story of his subject matter through his vision of what he wants the world to see which is a truly unique experience
he has invited and also shared with the audience who have the opportunity to see the great photography of Gregory Herpe who I feel has a true heart and passion
to share the lives of those he photographs with his unique vision and passion he wants to share their stories to the world.
Thank you Gregory from both Lisa Mam & I Peap for inviting us into your world and also being able to share our time with you, we are very happy to be your
friend and may you always stay blessed with sharing your creative vision through the camera lenses for the entire world to see.
Isabella Russ
Managing Editor of Austrian magazines Terra Mater & Red Bull Media House
A picture is worth a thousand words, it’s true because putting a strong moment into words is very hard, especially when those moments come about,
after looking to other people in times of complete loss and despair.
The images of the Cambodian children radiate joy which is very catching. It is rare to come across photographs of such power.
Gregory Herpe could capture on the one hand the stark beauty of such, the great animals, as well as the interaction between the children with his camera lens.
Great work!
Wayne Anthony
Director & Editor-in-Chief of the London Street Art & Design Magazine in London
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, a Gregory Herpe photo is worth a thousand pictures!
Myriam Seurat
Journalist & Tv host on French TV
Through his lens, Gregory Herpe questions the place of the person in society and society as it is. His work is the reflection of a pure emotion
in front of the present moment... scenes that life offers us taken on the spot.
His photographer's eye catches us... In front of his pictures we are at the same time moved, touched, tenderized...
His powerful black and white highlights a raw emotion...however this poetic vision of life, devoid of colors, reminds us how much we are Human...
to be human is to have an individual identity while being connected to what surrounds us in order to create conditions of sharing and exchange with others.
In this sense, thank you Gregory Herpe for reminding us, through your photographs, that humanity still has beautiful things to offer.
René Manzor
Filmmaker & Screenwriter
What strikes at first glance in Gregory Herpe's work is the mirror effect he imposes.
We feel spied upon, scrutinized by his subjects.
Interpelled by an emotional realism that questions us.
However, most of his shots are in high contrast black and white, energized by short focal lengths that transfigure this reality that we perceive daily in color
in our 50mm human vision.
So why this emotion?
Perhaps because the people, animals and landscapes he captures all have a secret to reveal to us, a story to tell.
Ours...
Nathalie Garçon
Fashion Designer & Stylist
The universe of Grégory Herpe is a journey, a journey through people... the living... life.
Each photo exudes a feeling of strangeness, of surprise... close to the cinema, it tells us its story.
The fixed moment seems stolen from a movie film.
We hold our breath... we wait for the next... a little "stunned"...
Fabrice Gaignault
Editor-in-Chief Culture of French magazine Marie-Claire & Writer
He is a man filled with what the world sends back to him from himself and others.
His camera tries to answer with an unfake emotion to this simple questions:
who am I?
Who are the others around me?
To answer the first question in part is to advance in the comprehension of the second one.
His eye of photographer abandons the cliché of the beautifully seen to print a truth, that of women and men struggling in their own way
to survive hunger, war, exclusion, poverty.
At a time when some people dream of building walls, Grégory Herpe uses his black and white images as bridges between people.
Grégory Herpe?
A passionate storyteller who makes us open our eyes to our own blindness.
Elsa Lunghini
Singer & Actress
In Grégory Herpe's work, each stopover is a journey to the heart of an aesthetic of the moment, of a raw, inspired, sometimes rebellious, untamed reality.
A modern vision, a keen sense of setting and symmetry where the outdated and the contemporary confront each other, the wear of time with the irony
of the evolution of our civilizations.
A sharpness of vision that gives these realities a luminous aura.
Laurent Bouhnik
Filmmaker, Screenwriter & Producer
We don't look at Gregory's photos: they whisper stories to us, with a certain tenderness, and sometimes a smile.
There are often dark skies in his pictures.
Like so many rumblings wanting to warn us, to shake us out of our torpor, out of our habits of no longer knowing how to look.
Behind the beauty of these images, it is our humanity that screams, that clings to our eyes. Each photograph questions, reflects who we are.
The deserted places he photographs reveal more about our condition as human beings than any explanation that tries to underline our imperfections.
It is enough to let ourselves be caught up in his photographs to see how our life closes in on our disappointed dreams.
Gregory is not a photographer, he is a poet who takes us into a world that we end up ignoring.
Yes, Gregory is not a photographer, he is a guide who leads us straight to the heart of our contradictions.
No wonder he ends up taking an interest in animals. Strong portraits of our animality, not to say our bestiality.
Yes, Gregory's photographs are not meant to caress in the direction of the hair, but to open us to what we are:
simple beings who dream of an elsewhere, wanting to escape from the prison that we have built ourselves.
Magnificent glance, rare and intense, that we will not be able to divert any more.
Moments of truth that I recommend you to discover without moderation.
Véronique de Villèle
Writer & Tv Host on French TV
There is an emotion, a tenderness, a look and a light in the photos of Gregory Herpe that touch me a lot :
the children in Cambodia are proof of this...
Hervé Lancelin
Curator at the Fondation Aimé Maeght & Director of the Hervé Lancelin Gallery in Luxembourg
A remarkable artistic approach with a lot of sensitivity...
Omar Sharif
Actor
I had the pleasure to play in a French movie and to meet Gregory Herpe, who was the set photographer.
I love his work, the precision of his framing, the sensitivity of his gaze.
A great artist!
Stanley Greene
Photojournalist
He is a great humanist photographer.
He is extremely intelligent and sensitive and it shows in his photographs.
Jean-Pierre Mocky
Director, screenwriter, producer
I knew Gregory as a student!
I like his pictures because they tell stories.