Location: Miami, Florida - APPLIED ARTS AWARD 2018
Dédé has found his way. He sells wind. In his '59 Edsel Corsair, he has everything to please: a well-groomed look, a nice face, a big car that drives through the pastel-neon scenery of Miami. The girls' hair flies off. The men think they are bosses. Immersed in this colourful, light, almost sparkling universe, I too let myself go, falling under the spell of these big four-wheeled beasts with their hot leather seats. The sun is shining, the air is warm, and nothing seems important. I let the landscape and the streets of Miami pass me by, and let myself observe the others, who in turn observe us, attracted by these beautiful old-fashioned machines. I savour the fascination they exert on passers-by and catch them in my lens. Exhilarating moments.
A certain American dream is exposed before my eyes: the illusion of freedom, the aspiration to wealth, nostalgia and a totally assumed taste for exaggeration. As a passenger in the Buick Electra 225, in this month of June 2017, without a seatbelt, with no control over speed or destination, I live and capture these ephemeral moments of happiness lived in unison, with my hair blowing in the wind. The wind that Dédé sells.
(Don't look for Dédé, the streets of Miami have been mourning his disappearance since that summer day in 2019 when the nicest person in the world chose to end his life)
