Stéphanie Boulay is a graphic and visual artist specializing in visual identity, publishing, and creative workshops focused on collage and the reuse of materials, combining design with an eco-friendly artistic approach.
I trained as an architect, but I quickly shifted my focus to photography after graduating. Since then, Antoine and I have formed a duo of landscape photographers: we work primarily with CAUE chapters, Houses of Architecture, and other organizations involved in urban planning and landscape design.
We do architectural, landscape, and urban planning photography, but we also take on side projects: exhibitions, roundtables, publications… either solo or as a duo. We met while studying architecture, and we clicked right away.
The appeal of being at Les Bains Douches is precisely that there are several freelancers gathered in the same place. We all have our own projects, but we share the same reality and the same challenges, and this collective energy is really beneficial. I’ve worked in shared spaces before, and I know how much this collective dynamic motivates our daily work.
What I also love here is the idea of promoting culture in the neighborhood: through events, open houses, or social gatherings that allow us to discuss artistic and urban topics. I’ve already collaborated with a former resident, and I know that many collective projects emerge among the occupants, such as Les Cabanes à Fontenay, where several residents worked hand in hand.
And then there’s a real connection to the city: the municipal team is involved, which helps build relationships and create joint projects. This direct relationship with the municipality makes the space even more vibrant and deeply rooted in its community.
Right now, I’m working on a long-term photography project exploring the transformations of Montreuil. I’ll also be leading film printing workshops as part of the MARMOE initiative at the Tignous Contemporary Art Center.
My approach is a form of geographical photography that examines urban planning policies in the Paris metropolitan area: the role of the body, vegetation, freedom of expression, and heritage evolving in public spaces. I’m interested in what disappears, what remains, and what reappears—a sort of sensitive observatory of the city.
I am also working on another project, titled “Montreuil Parle”: a photographic series begun during lockdown, which focuses on activist speech in urban spaces. Montreuil is a deeply engaged city, where graffiti, posters, and inscriptions tell the stories of the struggles and hopes of our time: feminism, environmentalism, LGBTQIA+, anti-capitalism… I photograph these walls that speak out, as a mirror of social movements. I plan to launch a second edition of this project in the near future.
In the same category
