Paresse EN BORD DE MER - 2026​

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'Paresse en bord de mer' is a photographic series begun in 2025 on the Spanish Atlantic coast, part of a larger body of work entitled “The Family of Men,” a reference to Edward Steichen’s exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 1955.

 

Through this work, Sébastien Petretti — director and photographer — seeks to capture, over the course of a lifetime’s journey, women and men in their daily lives, without pretension or artifice, always starting from the sincerity of lived experience and the desire to show that the human realm, with all its contradictions, is one of endless richness.

 

In “Paresse en bord de mer,” Sébastien focuses on those who lose themselves for an afternoon by the sea. To the strong personalities of the protagonists, captured in often comical scenes of everyday life, he adds highly saturated colors that contrast with the gloom of an era of economic and social austerity, turning this work into a positive bubble that reflects the naturally resilient spirit within us.

 

In this golden age of digital technology and artificial intelligence, Sébastien has chosen to keep film photography at the heart of his work. He seeks to emphasize sincerity, unleash a raw energy he cannot find in digital photography, and give his images a powerful range of colors and textures. The artist also avoids any staging or manipulation of reality, striving to remain as close as possible to his subjects without being seen. Working primarily with a 28mm lens, he has developed shooting techniques to ensure that his 35mm and medium-format cameras arouse no suspicion from his subjects.

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