Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre

They started their collaboration with the exploration of Parisian remains and later broadened their horizons to Europe (Belgium, Spain and Germany) before venturing further, to the United States and Asia. 

«During our visits to ruins, we always try to focus on remarkable buildings, whose architecture embodies the psycho­logy of an age and a system. In it we observe the metamorphosis of the process of decay», explain Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre.

Between 2005 and 2009, the photographers went to Detroit, the fallen city. Ruins of Detroit, their first lengthy undertaking, was published in 2010 by Steidl. The book achieved great success: it is currently in its seventh edition.

While in Detroit, they discovered American movie theaters: these lost palaces standing like preserved relics of Hollywood’s golden age. Steidl will soon publish this second project, also. 

Subsequently, the duo began an investigation on a Japanese Island nicknamed “Gun­kanjima”, (“battleship island” in Japanese). The old mining city that this island contains was deserted in 1974 and now stands completely abandoned. Over the course of two trips, in 2008 and then again in 2012, Marchand and Meffre photographed this isolated boulder lost off the coast of Nagasaki. This series was also published by Steidl in the eponymous book in May 2013.

The photographers’ latest exploration focuses on the unique architecture of Budapest’s courtyards. A book on this series was published by Steidl in May 2017. 

The duo always follow the same technique: they use a large-format camera and shoot their surroundings with a cold objectivity. Given that these places are often plunged in complete darkness, the photographers need to use innovative techniques to photograph them.

Their series exhibit particular tenacity, demonstrating their ability to investigate locations deserted by their inhabitants. As true photographic documents, their images are steeped in an apocalyptic atmosphere. Their ambition is to show the flaws of our society.  

Yves Marchand was born in 1981, Romain Meffre in 1987.