François-Xavier Gbré Uses His Photography to Fill in History’s Gaps

“What I try to do with my work is fill a lot of gaps in history and tell history in a different way,” artist François-Xavier Gebre said during a video call.

It is fitting that Gebre speaks these words because the older generations in Africa still convey so much information to the younger generations verbally. Born in France to French and Ivorian parents, Gebre uses his art to preserve “the memory of this continent.” He added, “This story needs to be written. It can be written in words or it can be written in pictures.”

A few days later, after he was interviewed art newsIn late January, Gebre’s “Radio Ballast” made its U.S. debut in a two-person exhibition between the International Center of Photography (ICP) and Côte d’Ivoire’s Nuits Balnéaires, curated by David Campany. The work tells the story of the railway system built by French colonialists in Côte d’Ivoire more than a century ago to transport natural minerals extracted in the country to the port of Abidjan. It’s a poignant set of photos, especially since Gebre’s grandfather was a railroad worker and the artist has been fascinated by trains his entire life.

The origins of this project came in the early 2010s, when Gbré was living in Mali, close to the train station. For about a year starting in 2024, Gebré photographed the railway line and the surrounding landscape from north to south of Côte d’Ivoire to examine the country’s history of colonization, independence and modernization. The title of the series refers both to the untold stories and to the gravel on which the tracks were laid.

“I’ve been looking at new industries. With the help of trains, villages turned into cities. I’ve been looking at the first railway stations built more than a century ago,” Gebre shared. “Then I was looking at modern architecture because when Côte d’Ivoire became independent, Félix Houphouët-Boigny [the country’s first president] It was decided to modernize this train station, just like he had done in the city of Abidjan. “

The photos presented a challenge: Some railroad workers were not enthusiastic about Gebre taking them, in part because they were unfamiliar with his work and projects. Françoise Remarque, Ivory Coast’s culture minister, had seen Gebre’s work at the exhibition in Abidjan and at the 2024 Venice Biennale, and helped the photographer gain entry.

ICP Creative Director Campani tells us art news Gebre represented “a political past, but also an economic and cultural past. François-Xavier’s understanding of photography was almost like a kind of archeology. He did develop a rather sophisticated way of thinking.” [how] Images made in the present can become portals into thinking about the past. “

Gebre was born in Lille, France in 1978 and had no intention of becoming a photographer. He broke his shoulder playing football and was later invited by a friend to join him in a photo studio. Gebre’s journey into the field began in 2000, when he began photographing the city of his birth in black and white. “Realizing that I was no longer interested in going to university,” he left biochemistry classes between 2000 and 2002 to study photography at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier, France. Around that time, he worked in Milan as an assistant to other photographers specializing in fashion, beauty, design, landscape and architecture. Gebre preferred the latter two types of photography – not least because he had always loved architecture. In 2007, about four years after he became a professional photographer, he officially decided to focus on architecture and landscapes.

“When you’re a young photographer, you’re looking for a style, something to tell, how to tell it, and what you really want to tell. I’m a regular photographer, shooting portraits, fashion, landscapes. It’s a mix of many, many things, and it’s not all very clear. I really enjoy collaborating with other photographers who focus on architecture and design [then] I realized I was really interested in this,” Gebre recalled. “That’s what I really wanted to do because when you [walk] All around, you have a bit of freedom. And you’re not locked up in a studio [and] You can go anywhere you want. I loved architecture from the beginning. I used to draw. I loved geometry when I was in school, so it came back. “

After working in Italy for several years, Gebre moved to Africa: first to the Malian capital Bamako, then to the Ivorian city of Abidjan, where he currently lives and works, in addition to La Rochelle, France. His practice also regularly travels to other locations, such as countries such as Madagascar.

In 2023, Gebre was invited by Fondation H, the Madagascar art foundation, with spaces in Antananarivo and Paris, to make a residency on the architectural heritage of this former city, the capital of France’s former colony of Madagascar. He recalled that during his residency he was able to “move around the city freely.” The result is an exhibition titled “Lova,” which means “Heritage” in Malagasy. The exhibition showcases work he captured during his time in Antananarivo: capturing the city’s architecture and colonial remains. The photographs tell the story of the city and country’s past, not by recounting events from long ago but by depicting the places that contain history.

“He is a traveler. He works as if he has a map in his head. François-Xavier does not get lost in a city, even if it is [new to him]”, says Cécile Fakhoury, founder of the eponymous gallery, which has represented Gbré for almost 15 years.[His] very clear photos [have] So much history. He captures the story of our humanity through landscape and architecture. “

Fakhoury first discovered Gbré’s work during a research period before opening the gallery in Abidjan in 2012, which now also has spaces in Dakar and Paris. She even had a file of the photographer’s work on her computer before she met him. She recalled that they met “by chance” when the photographer participated in the Cotonou Biennale in Benin that same year. The Biennale features a group of works by Gebre documenting Porto Novo’s former state printing house, which fell into disrepair.

The photographer told the gallerist that he planned to go to Côte d’Ivoire with his family, who were living in Mali at the time, and when Gebre finally visited the gallery a few months later, he arrived with a group of works. This marked the beginning of a long-term relationship.

Fakhoury revealed that in 2013, when she exhibited Gebre’s art at the 1-54th Contemporary African Art Fair in London, her booth attracted visitors such as photography collector Arthur Walther, who subsequently introduced Gebre to Tate curator Simon Baker. Walter purchased two works and donated one to the Tate Modern. Since then, Fakhouri’s gallery has presented Gebre’s work around the world, helping it to be included in biennials, exhibitions, and collected by institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Center Pompidou, the H Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Presenting his work in venues and exhibitions such as the ICP is Gbré’s way of continuing to record and present history.

“Radio ballasts are part of Côte d’Ivoire’s history, using the train system as a reason to look at the country’s history,” Gebre said. The body of work and exhibitions align with his practice of “filling in the gaps and making history accessible to everyone.”