BERLIN.- Camera Work is presenting the exhibition »Voyages Extraordinaires« by Christian Tagliavini from December 12, 2015. The series of the same title is being shown for the first time worldwide and, having taken 24 months to complete, is the most elaborate series of the artist to date. The works of Christian Tagliavini can be found in well-known private and corporate collections around the globe and are exhibited in international museums as well as at major photo art fairs.

»Voyages Extraordinaires«
»Voyages Extraordinaires« by Christian Tagliavini is an homage of the artist to one of the most important writers of the 19th century: Jules Verne. In the duration of more than 24 months, Christian Tagliavini created a series of 28 works in an incredible manner full of passion and love towards photo art, which fascinatingly narrate three of the most famous novels by Jules Verne: »Journey to the center of the Earth« (1864), »From the Earth to the Moon« (1865) and »Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea« (1869). In emotional sceneries moving portraits, Christian Tagliavini connects his concise picture language with the fantastic Jules-Vernesque Science-Fiction. The story of creation of »Voyages Extraordinaires« is simultaneously fascinating and unique.

Subject matter of the exhibition
Each of the 28 photographs displays a fictitious passenger invented by Christian Tagliavini, based on the three adventurous travels by Jules Verne. Christian Tagliavini dedicates a classical portrait and a scenic presentation to each protagonist. The works do not narrate the novels as a whole but rather focus on the traveler and their individual specialties, feelings, perceptions and desires, which are also expressed in their charm and grace. As well as the portraits of the passengers, Christian Tagliavini created portraits and scenes displaying those people who wait for the travellers’ return. The portrayal of a girl that is ardently longing for the home coming of her sister is moving and emotional, and full of expression are yonder portraits which display the parents of the travelling children.

History of creation of »Voyages Extraordinaires«
Similar to his famous series »1503« and »Carte« previously, Christian Tagliavini built each set in its entirety himself. For that purpose, the artist prepared and researched extensively in order to collect 19th century materials and requisites, and to study the complexion and portraiture aesthetic of the time when the novels were written. The graduated designer Christian Tagliavini re-built the objects from the novels and exclusively used materials of the times. Even most fabrics of the clothes correspond to what had been available back in the 19th century: all shirts, vests, trousers, jackets and dresses and spacesuits were tailored to the portrayed passengers, who were selected on the streets across the whole of Europe beforehand. It was of importance for the artist that the models would be able hold the expression and visible habitus so that the visual authenticity could locate them in that past. A few of the original items will be exhibited alongside the photography.

Christian Tagliavini
Born 1971, Christian Tagliavini grew up in Italy and Switzerland. His artistic development as technical and graphic designer shaped his complex relationship with photo art, and to invent works himself, to create and to produce independently. His works are not only »pictures« but designed narratives for which Christian Tagliavini produces all visible components himself: ranging from the interior of the set to the clothes of the protagonists. He views himself as »photographic craftsman« with this unique value proposition. His highly praised series »1503« (2010) and »Carte« (2012) were part of numerous international exhibitions. Works by Christian Tagliavini, of which some are already sold out, are amongst famous private and corporate collections. Today Christian Tagliavini works and lives in Switzerland.

»Voyages Extraordinaires« by Jules Verne
»Voyages Extraordinaires« (extraordinary travels) is a series of 54 novels and stories by Jules Verne (1828–1905), that were originally published during the years 1863 and 1905. The works in this series contain both fictional and non-fictional elements, partly with obvious science-fiction components or references to scientific romanticism. The goal of these adventurous stories was to sketch all geographic, geological, physical and astronomical knowledge of science at that time and subsequently to tell the history of the universe in an entertaining and imaginative format. Jules Verne’s attention to detail – also a characteristic of the work of Christian Tagliavini – and love for scientific knowledge, paired with his sense for wonder and exploration, motivate the core of the journeys. An important reason why »Voyages Extraordinaires« was so successful was that the reader was enabled to acquire knowledge about geology, biology, astronomy, paleontology, oceanography, and the exotic locations and cultures of the world through the protagonists’ adventures. The impressive wealth of information and knowledge define Jules Verne’s works as »encyclopedic novels«.