Holga is not a character from a novel or a tale, just like with records and a return to vinyl, there is a desire in photography to go back to analog. The Holga is one of those medium format techniques brought back into fashion by photographers today.
Magali Moscardo invites us to journey along the riviera between Cannes and Menton.
Through about thirty iconic photos, she unfolds her journey and takes us on a tour of the coast, skirting the sea from the city of festivals to that of lemons.
The palaces of the Croisette with their Belle Époque line will evoke delightful memories. The Lérins Islands and their wild beauty invite adventure and contemplation. Antibes and the Garoupe, its cape, a gray sea with silver scales and lazy yachts on their moorings, capture our imagination.
The ‘Marinas’ where, through a play on their vanishing lines, the photographer gives them a soul and beauty. Cagnes-sur-Mer, the palm tree, the passerby, a fragile silhouette and always the sea, one might read Rimbaud in it. The swan at Saint-Laurent-du-Var, the calm of the water, the elegy’s bird sings us its poem.
Nice and the Promenade des Anglais with the Mediterranean as the backdrop of an impressionist painter, we stroll with pleasure along this path to find ourselves at the sundial of Rauba Capeu. What time is it?
But is it important when Magali invites us to follow her? Villefranche-sur-Mer, the deserted bay and the bench as the only lookout monitoring the horizon, no passerby, a tree with winter branches as decor where the sky and the sea blend. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat where a cliff road leads us to Beaulieu with the small cove and the transparent sea. Monaco, the oceanographic museum, Cap Martin, and further, Italy appear in the mist. Arriving in Menton, the end of our pleasant journey, we discover the sleepy city of lemons, its Cocteau museum, and the bell tower of the Saint Michel basilica.
The ultimate photo of MENTON with the mention N7 is a symbol to conclude this photo album. This book, this album, we hesitate to define it, each photo being a chapter and a passionate text in itself. Magali Moscardo has managed to convey her passion.
Her black and white photos are works of art. Some may think of Doisneau when seeing these emotion-filled photos. Magali, on the other hand, prefers the nudity of landscapes. The people are only passive silhouettes and shadows, and this particularity makes this album unique.
From Cannes to Menton Magali guides us on the Riviera, her Riviera, and armed with her camera, she offers us wonderful views, the fruit of her vision, that of the artist and the photographer.
Holga on the Riviera, an indispensable album for your library.
Thierry Jan
