ECHOES - REMOTE PHOTOGRAPHY OF CONFLICT

“Images can help fan the flames. These photographs by Stephen Dock belong to the category of those which allow the long time of the reflection", Joan Fontcuberta In 2011, Stephen Dock, a young photographer self-taught Frenchman, leaves without a sponsor to cover a war that begins in Syria. He photographs the resistance fighters, the devastated streets, the saturated hospitals, protest movements, the tragic daily life of civilian populations. Continuing through Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Lesbos and as far as Macedonia, His journey traces, beyond the epicentre of the conflict, the humanitarian crisis and migratory that results from it. More than a decade later, he questions this archive of thousands of images. Moving away from any documentary treatment, Stephen Dock asserts himself in a process of reinterpretation and reappropriation of his photographs. He develops new forms, by focusing on perception. From noise to silence, the photographer does not turn more directly to the subject. It no longer obeys the obsession of making images, but dissects them and operates on organic matter. In trying to deconstructing a photographic register, Stephen Dock offers an image generic of modern warfare.