Thaddé Comar

Aujourd’hui reflects on the relationship between political elites and the dominant television media landscape. Produced between 2019 and 2024, the series questions the influence of the news industry and the phenomenon of one-upmanship. The media machine is on the move, but nothing is said about the topics that monopolise so much attention. Twenty years ago, during the events of September 11, 2001, your screens and the media were pouring out the news in a steady stream. The topic was well known, as the collapse of the Twin Towers was repeatedly broadcast on television, and newspapers had aligned themselves with the images to be published. But Comar reveals nothing. The present book opens with a television set with lights and screens on, devoid of human presence, ready to run and deliver the news feed. The following pages are just as meaningless. The world news show is completely omitted from the series. Through a reversal effect, the photographer confronts you with the restless flow of information. Nothing gives a glimpse of the outside world. The sensation of noise is caused by the impression of chaos: a huddle of journalists on the lookout for a word that would make the news, for an announcement that would shake up public opinion.
As we live in a society that vibrates to the rhythm of images from all over the world, from the most centralised to the most remote areas, Thaddé Comar chose to work in a unique space, the National Assembly in Paris, the very space where the world is discussed and commented, where laws are voted and decided. Comar chose the place of power, where words are heard, where persuasion is pursued. The cameras are recording, the microphones are open, and yet you are watching something silent. Political elites are inaudible. They are the focus of attention, but you know neither the subject of their speech nor their political camp - although some personalities are recognisable. The convergence of cameras and microphones is unmistakable: these people express themselves on current events, on the outside world. Plunged into the heart of this media moment, your gaze feels suffocated by the ambient cacophony.
As he captures behind the scenes of high-profile events, Thaddé Comar reveals how the media and politicians often get involved in a complex dance in which each holds on to their influence and power. Both fuel each other, transforming the consumption of information into a never-ending show. The photographer is tackling “media fatigue,” a phenomenon in which constant exposure to a flow of information ends up causing saturation and desensitisation. His images underline this saturation by staging media devices (television sets, sound and image recording devices), often in overabundance, and their ability to divert the viewer’s attention from the events themselves.