Véronique Vial was born in Paris and studied photography before travelling the world and settling in Los Angeles. Her first photographs of celebrities were published in the book Une journée à Hollywood (1991), published by Harper Collins, in the United States.

Working with Hollywood stars, musicians, writers and celebrities from the fashion world, Vial created a deep bond with iconic figures through photography. Her works have been exhibited at the Visa pour l’image festival in Perpignan, at the Fahey Klein gallery in Los Angeles, and in major cities such as New York and London. Her series Les hommes avant 10h du matin (Men Before 10.00 am) has won several photographic awards, including The World Press Award.

Vial’s Before 10 a.m. selection at the festival consists of mixed photographs from her three books. Infiltrating the homes of celebrities at the first light of the morning, Vial not only captures natural portraits, but also reveals the sweet, giddy spirit of the first moments of the day.

“This exhibition consists of images from three books in which I photographed celebrities in their private lives before 10 am. The aim was to capture ‘those’ moments in their lives before they put their masks on their faces. From the beginning I wanted these shots to be candid, unedited, without artificial lighting. I shot with my old Hasselblad 500 cm camera and 80 mm lens, using two rolls of film at 12 exposures each. I wanted real, raw, natural photos, without make-up, without retouching, without posing. Every morning I looked forward to getting up early for our appointments, before they were ready to start their days. The intimacy I discovered was palpable and often without the use of many words. I photographed many of them, probably more than I needed to, but it had become a ritual for me, a way of starting the day; getting up early and photographing a character.”

Veronique Vial

28 September – 30 November 2024

Institut Français Turkiye