Is 2020 the time of the elevated self-portrait?

Not only has Hubert been thoroughly documenting his environment and the people with whom he works, now with this recent  project, Hubert is doing a round-up of all the elements that helped him create these different stories. These objects were, after all, what elevated the normality of his studio to an art form and emphasized the narrative that was made up on the spot. “When something’s taken out of its original context, it can take a whole other meaning, say a beach ball in a living room. Just because we aren’t used to seeing it in such a place doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong there,” he says. “Without falling into some sort of political creed,” the photographer pursues, “it’s a play on norms and conventions.”

The DIY ethic is a recurrent, if not a constitutional, element throughout the image maker’s work and that’s something that’s been favourably welcomed by the fashion industry. At the Hyères festival last year, Hubert won the American Vintage Fashion Prize after presenting a selection of archive pictures that featured his habitually bold yet homely installations, a title that came with a cash prize of 15,000 euros and a photo project offer commissioned by the brand that would be displayed in one of their boutiques in Paris.

With the support that he received, the photographer printed the pictures of the beach and the landscapes he took while being in Hyères on pieces of fabric and covered his entire flat with them. The imagery features lively scenes of children laughing and playing, with adults joining them. “The people who model for me already know each other in some way or another. That way there’s no ice-breaking introductions to do,” says the photographer. “The way they act, I haven’t told them so. It’s just them being themselves.” 

During a time when photographers and creators have to make limitations part of their creative process, Hubert’s work is a great example of how a photographer can actively define all elements of a fashion image.