LES APPARENCES, 2025
Les apparences is a work in which I become a character who embodies and reveals himself, seeking to escape the social condemnation of homosexuality that he has probably internalised. Through these self-staging, shame becomes a transformative energy and photography a tool of emancipation. From the fear of stigma to its reversal. From the process that leads from the closet to the stage. In the image Back #1, a male back, deprived of arms and head, rests on a grey paper plinth held by a metal rod. The background is also grey paper, this time in a lighter tone, thereby decontextualizing the entire scene. One can see a reference to sculptures that glorify a certain perfection of the male body, reminiscent of the ancient works of Myron or the more realistic and symbolic pieces by Rodin. However, the deliberately artificial, sanitized aesthetic of the image calls this lineage into question and heightens a sense of bodily discontinuity. The digital removal of certain limbs further unsettles our perception, alluding both to the personification of a censored, clandestine desire that one might try to recover through various forms of representation such as sculpture, and to certain beauty standards and to the posture both physical and social of the male body, historically entrenched, as notably explored by Alix Marie in several of her works and by Matthieu Croizier in his series Everything Goes Dark A Little Further Down. The video La bonne éducation presents an empty stage devoid of any audience, introduced by several cameras positioned to encompass the entirety of the space. I then enter the stage, embodying a character distrustful of an absent audience. Remaining inactive at first, the character then splits into several figures, each reacting in their own way under the gaze of an imaginary audience evoked by the empty seats. The intention behind this video is to address the fear of stigma and the strategies deployed to avoid revealing oneself, echoing texts by Didier Eribon and Édouard Louis. This audience, whether it exists or is merely a figment of the protagonist’s imagination, assumes a fundamental place, given that the protagonist addresses only this audience, performing certain roles so as not to expose himself. Presented as a split screen, the video may recall Gabriela Löffel’s Performance and thus explores ideas of role multiplicity, self-censorship, social posture, and self-fabulation. Finally, the project takes the form of an installation, a wooden box with the dimensions of a photo booth, intended to evoke the allegory of the closet. In this way, it emphasises the idea of a metaphorical and physical space where identity is both concealed and affirmed. The images arranged and stapled on the outside thus seek to shift the symbolic burden into the public realm, making visible what tends to be hidden, while inside the video is shown on a television screen, reinforcing the notions of concealment and intimacy.
Pigment print on proofing paper,
64 x 48 cm
14,5 x 10,5 cm each
Pigment print on proofing paper,
64 x 48 cm
La bonne éducation, From the series Les apparences, 2025,4K digital video (16:9), color, sound, 5' 51" (looped),
single-channel installation
Salle Perrier, Renens,
2025
Salle Perrier, Renens,
2025
Salle Perrier, Renens,
2025
SALTATION, 2024
Saltation is a series of three self-portraits that explore the relationship with the self, the body and the posture adopted to face the external gaze. Through notions of self-control and appearance management, this work explores how each individual constructs their own representation, constantly oscillating between self-expression and the pressure to adopt certain social poses. The initial intention of this series was to play with relatively conventional, stereotypical poses derived from certain social codes, and then to counter them by adopting their opposite stance. However, once the range of possible poses had been exhausted, preparation gave way to improvisation and more unusual expressions. Developed around an automatic shooting protocol, approximately five-hundred images were produced, all taken with a camera placed frontally against a white paper background and lit from multiple sources to ensure an even scene. As the images progressed, I gradually let go, sometimes finding myself hunched over, sometimes stretching out, reminiscent of Robert Longo’s Men in the Cities series. Ultimately, this work is about how we play with our own image and the inherent complexity of any quest for self-representation. It also highlights the ambiguity of the control offered by photographic editing when attempting to convey a symbolic truth.
Dye sublimation print on fabric,
320 x 130 cm
Dye sublimation print on fabric,
320 x 130 cm
Dye sublimation print on fabric,
320 x 130 cm
Biennale Images, Vevey,
2024
Biennale Images, Vevey,
2024
UNTITLED, 2023
Untitled is a work that seeks to explore the influence of colour on the perception of a depicted person, drawing on Michel Pastoureau’s theorisation of the six “officially recognised” colours. By photographing the same person against different coloured backgrounds, the intention was to show how these hues, laden with cultural and psychological significance, shape the way viewers project ideas or emotions onto the subject. Each portrait was created in a studio using a Hasselblad 500 CM and Kodak Portra 160 film, against paper backgrounds representing the six theorised colours. Once developed, the images were scanned and assembled into a contact sheet, giving the viewer a sense of authenticity and evoking the photographic process. The resulting print was then hung on the wall like wallpaper, confronting the viewer with real size portraits that reinforce the ambiguity of the subject’s proximity. The work thus emphasises the evocative power of colour, playing with repetition and variation. Using a clean, minimalist aesthetic, the project explores the relationship between appearance and chromatic symbolism, opening up a space for reflection on perception and the role of colour in our collective imagination.
Pigment print on pre-pasted paper,
308 x 158 cm
CEPV, Vevey,
2023
HUIS CLOS, 2023
Huis clos is a series of images composed of twenty-four photographs, divided into six groups. Each group thus depicts a room in a fictional apartment in which models pose with an attitude emphasizing their solitude, cohabiting with a decor that is uniquely theirs. Though each room appears distinct, all of these sets were in fact constructed in a single space, my bedroom, reinforcing the sense of an enclosed environment. These rooms are represented through a wide shot, a still life, a portrait, and finally a close-up. By creating these spaces from scratch, the intention is to invite the viewer to question themes such as staging, the performed image, photographic theatricality, and perception. The images first catch the eye with their centered framing, frontal viewpoints, and minimalist aesthetic. Studio backdrops are used as walls, which immediately creates ambiguity regarding reality while also reinforcing the specificity of each room by assigning it a particular color. The objects themselves are few in number and, as a result, stand out more prominently, both in their own right and in relation to each other. Finally, the characters are shown alone, among objects, in moments of pause, hovering between presence and absence, thus recalling certain interior scenes from figurative painting, as exemplified for instance by Vilhelm Hammershøi or Bernard Buffet. Through these stagings, reality and unreality merge thanks to the ambivalence created between ornamentation and objectivity, also evoking Thomas Demand’s ambiguous scenarios. Moreover, a kind of absurdity emerges from the fact that objects and figures occupy the same level : the characters are thereby objectified, while the objects are elevated. Furthermore, the models’ poses seem to question their very existence. Their faces are melancholic, their expressions stiff, their bodies frozen, reminiscent of certain portraits by Charles Fréger. Lastly, a particular relationship to perception is called into question, reminiscent of Barbara Probst. How do we see things ? How is a completely artificial space perceived ? How do images conceived as a series influence one another ? How can a single image create the dramatic shift that alters the viewer’s gaze ?
Pigment print laminated on aluminum,
60 x 45 cm
Pigment print laminated on aluminum,
60 x 45 cm
Pigment print laminated on aluminum,
60 x 45 cm
Pigment print laminated on aluminum,
60 x 45 cm
STATMENT
Lucien Giorgis (2001, CH) is a photographer who lives and works in London. His work examines the photographic medium both in its materiality and in its capacity to represent and reinvent reality. By using a process of reduction, he seeks to eliminate any superfluous elements, creating images in which every detail finds its place, serving a broader line of thought. The themes he addresses stem from intimate and societal questions, hovering at the edge of autofiction. He is particularly interested in notions such as personal identity, self-expression, namely what individuals choose to reveal or conceal, social postures, and the normative frameworks that govern certain interactions. In doing so, he questions the mechanisms of projection, personification, and control offered by photography, exploring how this medium influences what we reveal or hide about ourselves, while also opening a broader reflection on constructed imagery. These reflections highlight the tensions between what is apparent and what is meant to be concealed. By confronting these dualities, his images call into question the social, cultural, and identity constructs that shape our realities, while allowing for a more open and personal reading.
EDUCATION
➔ MA in Photography, 2026, RCA, London, UK
➔ Higher Diploma in Visual Communication, specialization in Photography, 2025, CEPV, Vevey, CH
➔ VET Diploma in Photography, 3rd Prize, 2023, CEPV, Vevey, CH
AWARDS AND GRANTS
➔ Shortlisted, Festival d’Hyères, 2024
➔ Shortlisted, Prix Photoforum, 2023
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
➔ Before Thought, the Body, 2025, Hockney Gallery, London, UK
➔ Sudden, unpredictable actions, 2025, Espace Perrier, Renens, CH
➔ Fake photo fair, 2025, Standard Deluxe, Lausanne, CH
➔ Toute ressemblance serait fortuite, 2024, Biennale Images, Vevey, CH
➔ Soupçonne moi du meilleur, 2024, La mûre, Marseille, FR
➔ True colors, 2023, CEPV, Vevey, CH
COLLECTIVE PUBLICATIONS
➔ Hors-scène : Le théâtre des images, 2024, CEPV, CH
➔ No more heroes : A code of practice for collaboration in photography, 2024, Self-published group, CH
➔ Let the wind take care of everything, 2024, Mörel books, UK
CONTACT
Lucien Giorgis
1 Voss Street
E2 6JE London – UK
+ 41 76 302 43 00
contact@luciengiorgis.com
NEWSLETTER
By subscribing to the newsletter, you agree that your data will be processed in accordance with the Privacy Policy.