As so often, it is happenstance that leads to new discoveries. In this case, while walking along the Hôtel de Ville of Paris, I stumbled upon the work of a photographer I had never heard of before: Nicole Lala. The exhibition Nicole Lala Photographs Her City presents black-and-white images of Paris in the 1960s: simple, understated compositions capturing people in their daily routines, places now transformed, and details that have not changed. It is a series of remarkable glimpses into a Paris that once was. A bit of research revealed that her daughter Delphine Bonnet has only recently begun unveiling this hidden treasure, with a book soon to follow. Nicole Lala is still awaiting wider recognition, but I was already happily drawn into her invitation to visit for a while her own Lala Land.
