Lee Shulman, The Anonymous Project 
United Kingdom • Born: 1973
Horizons 

"I often picture myself sitting on a train, face pressed against the window, watching the landscape stream past like a long ribbon unfurling. I am mesmerised by the horizon; that undulating line that brings together all the elements of an otherwise constantly changing scene. The human eye tends to focus on the changes taking place in the foreground or background, but my gaze is fixed on that uninterrupted line of the horizon. For me, this represents a comforting bridge between the past and the future, a steadfast marker that symbolises an imminent new beginning. The horizon can cut straight through an image like a knife, splitting it into two halves that reflect contrasting visions of the world.”

Lee Shulman, a creative, openhearted artist, describes his latest project in these terms. Presenting at La Gacilly for the first time, this exhibition comes after ten years of showing his imaginative and visually bold work in major photography venues, from Arles and New York to Seoul and London.

It all began somewhat by chance when the British filmmaker purchased a series of 35mm Kodachrome slides on eBay, all taken by anonymous photographers. Shulman was deeply moved by what he calls “the emotional value of these slices of life” and decided to share them with a wider audience. He founded The Anonymous Project in 2017 and went on to assemble one of the 20th century’s largest private collections of amateur colour photography.

This extraordinary archive, comprising approximately 800,000 Kodachrome slides, creates a collective memory that depicts moments of life lost in time. The images range from humorous to surprising to moving and are as fascinating as they are striking in their imperfections.

Shulman’s Horizons presents a carefully chosen selection from this vast archive. The series uses nostalgia as a starting point to show how the legendary line of the horizon can structure scenes and bring different generations together in photographic form.

Out at sea, horizons appear simple and flat. A single line that separates the sky from the water, even though the two are inseparable. On land, horizons are more uneven and dramatic, and their calm appearance can be misleading. Together, horizons are the backdrop to our lives, a line running between who we were and who we will be.

This project quietly reminds us that, however different our paths might seem, we are all moving in the same direction. 
 

Jardin du marais.