Luc Delahaye comes from a background in photojournalism. He stepped away from that part of his career in the early 2000s and has since focused on a new genre he refers to as “photographic paintings.” These large-scale works blur the boundary between photography and painting. Using a large-format camera, Delahaye captures scenes of political events, war zones, and everyday life. The resulting photographs are printed at monumental scale, inviting viewers to slowly immerse themselves in the image and spend time contemplating its many layers and details. The exhibition at the Musée du Jeu de Paume presents, under the title “The Noise of the World” around forty of these large “paintings,” transporting the viewer to places such as Haiti, Ukraine, and Palestine. How to respond to this work is not entirely clear. I found myself uncertain about what to think. Perhaps I was expecting more of his earlier photojournalistic approach. Some images sparked genuine interest, while others left me unmoved. Overall, it was a valuable experience, though I left the exhibition with a slight sense of regrets. Not enough noise?
