233 - Chloé Jafé

Born in Lyon in 1984 represented by Ibasho and galerie écho 119, Chloé Jafé is an artist and a photographer trained at the École de Condé in Lyon and at the UAL Central Saint Martins School in London.

She has been able to create a unique personal voice in the world of documentary photography. Those close to her say bluntly that she photographs with her gut, using the camera as a key to understanding the strange and the foreign. Her obsession and intuition has enabled her to access secret worlds. Her ability to connect to her subjects has meant her work really is exceptionally personal – the world through Chloe Jafes eyes.

She worked and immersed herself in Japan and Japanese culture from 2013-2019 creating a trilogy of work. The images are raw, black and white, tender and ferocious. She reveals an unprecedented vision of hidden parts of Japanese society. Her trilogy, composed of the chapters “I give you my life", "Okinawa mon amour" and "How I met Jiro", highlights the little-known and subversive sides of a place where modesty is paramount.

Critically acclaimed, her work on the women of the Yakuza was rewarded by the Bourse du Talent in 2017 and exhibited at the Bibliotèque nationale de France.

Attracted by sensitive and difficult subjects, often marginal, Chloé Jafé does not hesitate in her practice to push the limits of the photographic medium by working directly on prints, in acrylic and brush. Each of her series has resulted in a limited edition book, bound and handcrafted by the artist. 

In episode 233, Chloé discusses, among other things:

• Photography as ‘a tool’
• Her first trip to Japan
• Moving there
• Hostess job
• Meeting ‘the boss’
• The women of The Yakuza
• The significance of tattoos
• Painting onto her prints
• Her trilogy of books: I Give You My Life, Okinawa Mon Amour and How I Met Jiro
• Finding abandoned negatives
• Adventures in publishing

Referenced:

• Paolo Roversi
• Sarah Moon
• Yakuza Moon
• Jake Adelstein
• Reminders Project
• Teun van der Heijden

Website | Instagram

“I was sure this project was mine. I had to do this. You know, I think I was frustrated that I was the right person to do this, and it was my mission. I was sure about that.”

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