Perdre la Tete

Every day, Fran ois-Marie Banier leaves home with his camera and no preconceived notions, just an interest in what the world looks like that morning. Surveying the street from his moped, he focuses on faces and figures bearing the marks of a life with the power to touch his viewers' emotions--a street cleaner with the demeanor of a heroic mythological warrior, lonely figures out for a stroll, passers-by, couples--all have lived through trials at which we can only guess. Banier's largely black-and-white work has been seen throughout Europe, including at the Centre Pompidou, and in Asia and Latin America. In addition to his work as a photographer, he is a novelist and playwright.