"Leftover Lives", an exhibition and book by Roman Jehanno and Simon Frankart

12 December 2024 Alumni News

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Roman Jehanno (Bachelor Photographer and Videographer, class of 2008) will be signing his book " Leftover Lives " on Thursday December 19 at the OFR bookshop in Paris. An exhibition will accompany the event.

"Leftover Lives" is the result of a friendship between Roman and graphic designer and illustrator Simon Frankart (of the Petites Luxures account).

This "friendly, pictorial and literary adventure", first took the form of an Instagram account created in 2018 before becoming a book that brings together 60 stories, combining landmark publications and unpublished creations.

"Leftover Lives" brings together the snapshots of anonymous people, unearthed at auctions, flea markets, attics... to which the two authors have added imaginary captions with a light-hearted humor (in French and English).

Guided by their interest in vernacular photography, Roman and Simon's hijackings take a fresh look at collective memory and oblivion.

« Leftover Lives » Roman Jehanno et Simon Frankart

"Leftover Lives" Roman Jehanno and Simon Frankart

" Glass plates, slides, negatives. We've scanned thousands of them, exploring the forgotten lives of unknown people. To give them a new lease of life, and, let's face it, to have a bit of fun, we stopped on some of these photographs to add a caption, a commentary, a dialogue, in order to divert their meaning, their reading, their destination ".
Roman Jehanno

100% self-published, the book will be printed in an edition of 1000 copies. It is available from the following bookshops : librairie du Palais de Tokyo, 0fr, Artazart, LIbrairie Sans Titre, Le Monte en l'Air, Librairie du Désordre and Librairie les Caractères.

Specializing in landscape and portrait photography, Roman Jehanno was awarded the Hasselblad Master Prize in 2014 for his "Savoir-faire" series, subsequently published in various magazines (National Geographic, Fubiz, Réponse Photo...).

In 2022, he directed SÁMIS, a documentary about the people of the same name, illustrating his interest in preserving cultures and traditions. The film was also the subject of an exhibition at GOBELINS last April.