Earlier this month, Dior, in partnership with LUMA Arles and the ENSP, celebrated the 7th edition of the Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award for Young Talents, honoring 13 finalists and one prize winner, and kicking off the annual correlating exhibition of their work, which will run from July to September 29. The recurring theme for contestants, Face to Face, yielded submissions that explored cultural discovery through travel, introspection, sensitivity and openness to others, and this year’s winning submission, “Silence is speaking,” a photographic series by Chia Huang, documented Huang’s travel to the small town of Taitung, where she embedded herself within the home of two autistic brothers, who cannot verbally communicate, living with their father who suffers from cancer.
Huang, pictured in front of her section of the exhibition.
In the sensitive and poignant images, viewers are able to perceive the soundless communication that exists within this family, as well as their body language and powerful non-verbal expression, through documenting the “silent sounds within them,” as well as the societal pressure to conform to a “normal family life.”
Huang, who attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris, explained that in preparation for her documentation of the family, she would meditate for over an hour each day prior to her visits with them. “I would empty myself and get ready to receive the message of them, which is beyond language, before I would go.” The center of her practice, she explained, is to collaborate with people who live outside of society. “I try to find the balance and equality behind and in front of the camera—to find the crosspoint of generations and highlight those who might not be heard,” she said. Everything for Huang while she is working, relies on her intention to be fully immersed. “I don’t always have my camera with me, but when I am working I am inside the photography. I don’t bring my cellphone, I don’t talk to people, nothing. I drop myself.”
As is customary, this year’s prize was selected by a jury, which welcomed the renowned portrait photographer Brigitte Lacombe as its chair, as well as Julie Jones, art historian of the Centre Pompidou Photography Department, and French contemporary artist Laurent Montaron, as well as Maja Hoffmann, president and founder of LUMA Arles, Peter Philips, Creative and Image Director for Dior Makeup, and Simon Baker, Director of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, who have served on the jury annually.
Lacombe at the 2024 Art of Color exhibition at LUMA in Arles.
“Our 13 finalists, they offer a diversity of voices, but it’s a coherent group,” explained Lacombe. “In my own work, I try to be strong and direct, but in that approach, it’s an exchange. It’s communication,” she continued, “It’s an exchange, when you meet someone face to face and decide to collaborate on a photograph, and what you get in the end is art. Most photography is almost an afterthought, but then there are moments where you interact with someone, like our winner has done, and it’s completely something else. She embedded herself with that family and gives a sober look, without an ounce of sensationalism or sentimentality. You cannot do what she has done without being really present.”
As part of the award, Chia Huang will receive a 10,000 euro grant from the House of Dior, and her photos will be on view with the works of the 12 other finalists, at the Lampisterie, LUMA Arles, from July 1st to September 29th 2024. Starting in early 2025, “Silence is speaking,” will be shown at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris.
As the deputy digital lifestyle director at Town & Country, Roxanne Adamiyatt covers fashion, beauty, wellness, design and travel.
