Olivier Roller (born 1972 in Strasbourg), is a French photographer based in Paris. He specializes in photographic portraits, and since 2009 he has been creating photographic frescos. The images are about figures of power, and portraits of the "emperors of today", which he confronts and compares to the faces of the past, from antiquity to Napoleon.
Biography
After studying political science and law studies in Strasbourg, Olivier Roller became a photographer.
He describes power and influence in France in the beginning of the 21st century, through the individuals who represent them (ministers, financials, advertisers, media leaders…)
The beginnings
Olivier's first portrait was of his grandfather in 1994, in a very tight frame and devoid of artifices. The image urges the viewer to go beyond the clichés of the portrait: to smile, stand straight, be beautiful.
While he was still a student, he found his voice and a new means to communicate through Photography. To find faces to photograph, he approached many writers and filmmakers, who were promoting their work in bookstores and venues. This promptly lead to the press giving him assignments.
Jeanne Moreau
While on assignment, Oliver followed Jeanne Moreau to a film festival in Belgium. Back in Paris, he contacted her to ask if he could photograph her, this time not for any specific reason. He wanted to move away from assignments, to instead photograph the subjects more authentically and more real. This photograph is now the cover of the book Visage by Bruno Chibane, gathering 20 years of portraits of assignments of Olivier Roller.
Figures of power
In 2008, the Musée du Louvre gave him a carte blanche in the following terms "would you like to work on the equivalent of Sarkozy (French president) and Fillon (Sarkozy' prime minister), 2000 years ago?". He spent every Tuesday (public closure’ day) for six months, all alone in the Gallery of Antiques.
From the following year, he set out to confront the faces of today's "emperors" (financiers, publicists, intellectuals, diplomats, politicians, etc.) with their counterparts of the past (from the Roman emperors to Napoleon). He contacts the men of power, proposes to them to come to make a portrait in his studio, and to become a face hanging on the wall of an exhibition. This project is still in progress.
The influence of surfing
In the collective book West is the Best, Olivier Roller speaks about his surfing practice, that he compares to photography.
Being in the ocean, in the middle of the waves, allows him to not think and just to be present. He describes this practice as "a symbolic vehicle for advancement," and explains that surfing has allowed him "to reach a certain animality" and "reconnect with reality". Olivier Roller explains that he loves the shifting, unpredictable and even disappointing side of surfing. The same applies to photography. He compares photography to the ocean: " (it) has nothing against you, but you will never be able to dominate it, you just have to be humble."
Exhibitions
2017-2018: Musée du Louvre, « Théâtre du Pouvoir » septembre 2017 à juillet 2018
2017: Centre des monuments nationaux, château d'Angers, installation La Cathédrale de fil 2017: Maison européenne de la photographie, acquisitions récentes - Paris 2016: Palazzo Al-Temps / musées nationaux romains, Rome 2016: « Les larmes de la terre », The Temple (Pékin), Banpo (Xi-An), Changsha, Dunhuang - Chine 2015: « Oser la photographie », musée Réattu, Arles 2015: « Carte blanche à Olivier Roller », Mobilier national, musée des Gobelins, Paris 2015: « Aller Dehors », La Criée, centre d’art contemporain, Rennes 2014 « Figure di potere », Spazionuovo, Rome 2014 « Lumières », musée Cognacq-Jay, carte blanche à Christian Lacroix, Paris 2013: « Mon île de Montmajour », abbaye de Montmajour, centre des monuments nationaux commissariat Christian Lacroix, Arles 2013 « Rodin, la lumière de l’antique », musée de l'Arles antique, Arles 2010-2013 « Figures du pouvoir 1 », exposé à : La Filature, Mulhouse Musée des Moulages, Lyon MIA Art Fair, Milan Villa Aurélienne, Fréjus SpazioNuovo, Rome, festival Foto Roma Festival Fotoleggendo, Rome Grange de Dorigny, Lausanne & participation au colloque universitaire « Le visage dans tous ses états » Musée de la photographie André Villers, Mougins Institut culturel de Fukuoka (Japon) Institut franco-japonais, Tokyo