Le garçon du cirque
This black-and-white photograph shows a young man leaning against a rough wall in an urban setting. He stands shirtless, wearing simple trousers and shoes. Strong sunlight falls across his body and creates deep shadows on the ground. He looks away from the camera, which gives the scene a quiet and reflective mood.
On the left, a large wooden door fills much of the frame. Its surface shows wear, with peeling posters and cracked wood. A circus advertisement appears among these layers. A clown face is still visible, along with fragments of text. This lively image contrasts with the stillness of the figure.
The photograph creates a dialogue between spectacle and solitude. The circus poster suggests movement and entertainment. In contrast, the young man remains calm and distant. This tension adds depth to the scene and invites interpretation. The worn surfaces also suggest the passage of time.
The gelatin silver print enhances contrast and detail. Bright highlights and deep blacks define the composition. Light shapes the figure and emphasizes the textures of the wall and door. The result feels both precise and atmospheric.
Yves Paradis
Yves Paradis was born in Brittany in 1955 into a family of farmers. He discovered photography during secondary school and from that moment on never stopped capturing his surroundings. After studying hospitality, he worked in the tourism sector before being hired by a weekly newspaper, where he was in charge of the photo lab—a role much more aligned with his passion. Gradually, he became a journalist and learned all aspects of the profession through what is known as local reporting.
At the same time, he continued to photograph for pleasure. He initially focused on the “deep France” of the 1970s and 1980s—village festivals, religious celebrations, Saturday night dances… At the turn of the 1980s, his interest shifted toward the world of boys.
Although close to the gay scene, Yves Paradis has always remained independent of trends, which gives his photographs a timeless quality.
From 1985 onwards, he worked regularly with the homosexual newspaper Gai Pied until its closure in 1992, as well as with numerous other publications, particularly in Italy and Germany. His work was noted for its singularity. His colleague Joseph Caprio described him as “the Robert Doisneau of boys.” Like Doisneau, he conveys deep empathy for his subjects, photographing them outside the studio, in natural light, without artifice, and most often in black and white. This gives his images a particularly authentic character.
“Yves Paradis’ photographs always tell a story… They are simple images, set in simple environments, often creating a sense of identification, like songs or landscapes that evoke memories…,” wrote Didier Lestrade—journalist and founder of Act Up France—in Gai Pied in 1986.
Yves Paradis stopped taking photographs in the early 1990s to focus on his career as a journalist, as photography did not provide him with a sufficient living. However, he carefully ensured the preservation of his archives. Upon retirement, and through various encounters, he resumed photography, still working in analog black and white.
A self-taught photographer, Yves Paradis has always printed his own photographs in his personal darkroom. “In order to master my images from A to Z…,” he explains, adding that analog photography has always been his preferred medium.
“For the past thirty years, digital technology has disrupted the world of photography and has even improved image quality. However, analog photography—with the unbearable uncertainty of the shot, whose quality only reveals itself during film development—requires a different approach: more focused, less casual. With digital, you can immediately retake a failed photo. Not with film. In the darkroom, the photographer can also refine the print by working with contrast, developer temperature, papers… Like Brassaï, I believe that the author’s print is what truly matters… even if the darkroom process involves a great deal of work…”
This highly artisanal approach defines Yves Paradis’ work. As a result, each of his prints presents subtle variations that distinguish it from the previous one, making each piece, in a way, unique.
No products in the cart.