Sébastien Cuvelier

During the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, 19-year-old American soldier Normand finds refuge with Sébastien Cuvelier’s great-grandparents. This encounter gives rise to a transatlantic correspondence that continues across three generations.

Today, Sébastien turns his attention to Michael, Normand’s youngest son. Michael comes across as curious, well-educated and good-natured, yet his conservative, at times radical, views also reveal an America in flux, marked by social, political and ideological divisions.

The project explores the intertwining of family history, political unrest and social upheaval. In a climate where nationalist rhetoric is regaining ground, Sébastien Cuvelier examines the significance of this family legacy, these letters and the faces on paper – silent witnesses that whisper of the possibility of a more empathetic world.

Sébastien Cuvelier photographs stories of memory, hope and reconstruction. Through an open-ended documentary approach, imbued with poetry and symbolism, he seeks to bring to light the tension between what we experience and what we idealise. His work unfolds in the interstices of time and draws the viewer into the narrative, straddling the line between investigation and imagination.

Sébastien is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure de Photographie in Arles and is a member of the European platform Futures.

Exhibition views © Cité de l'image / Hype / CAL