The belief by the image: the choice of Jérôme Pantalacci

Jérôme Pantalacci ©saywho saymika

After studying Fine Arts, Jérôme Pantalacci began his career in Marseille with Roger Pailhas, where he worked both at the gallery and on the organization of Art Dealers , a fair he had created that brought together eight international galleries in a 1000 m² space in the Old Port in the spring. After Roger Pailhas's death in 2005, the gallery closed and the fair stopped. A few years later, in 2007, Jérôme Pantalacci founded the contemporary art fair Art-o-rama , which he has directed ever since, pursuing his passion for contemporary photography and showcasing young international talent.

'FESTIVALS' Brad Pitt Leonardo DiCaprio (2024), Olivier Huitel, Photography, 30x40 cm

Curation: Belief through image

For this selection, Jérôme Pantalacci presents 10 works that question the gaze and our perception of reality. Called Belief through Images , this curation explores the complex relationship between photography and truth.

“From its inception, photography has validated the viewer's credulity. It was immediately perceived as a faithful reflection of reality. Which it never was,” explains Jérôme Pantalacci. The selected photographers do not limit themselves to this fidelity. On the contrary, they use the camera to offer an alternative view of the world , to play with the frame, the point of view, and to create images that challenge our perceptions.

Pendulum (2025), Tania Serket, Photography, 50x40 cm

What Jérôme Pantalacci's selection reveals

In the age of digital technology and artificial intelligence, where images can be infinitely manipulated and the viewer's credulity is tested, contemporary photography remains a tool for bringing a new level of attention to the world . The works chosen by Jérôme Pantalacci demonstrate how some photographers continue to work with the technical rigor and perceptive sensitivity inherent in the medium, thus offering a rest for the eye in a world saturated with deceptive images.

Oh Brazil! 2 (2025), Jacques Jégo, Photography, 39.5x70 cm

The Belief through Images selection invites us to look differently , to rediscover a form of confidence in what we see, without ever forgetting that photography is a game between reality and interpretation. It highlights the power of the image to restore, transform and question reality , while reminding us that the viewer's gaze is at the center of this experience.

Photography as an exploration of the gaze

This selection shows how photography can transform the way we see the world. In the Azores, Nicolas Floc'H ( Productive Landscapes, Açores, lobeira , 2023) reveals seabeds weakened by the acidification of the waters, making visible the impact of climate on nature. Patrick Tosani ( JAN 19-06-2177 , 2018) plays with light and the scale of objects to bring out the poetry of everyday life, while Nicolas Lespagnol ( Série vers 25/30 , 2023) transforms nature into a visual illusion, reminding us how our perception can be deceived.

Series vers 25/30 (2023), Nicolas Lespagnol, Photography, 100x70 cm

Tania Serket ( Pendulum , 2025) combines human figures and everyday objects in colorful and evocative double exposures, and Jacques Jégo ( Ô Brasil! 2 , 2025) captures the ephemeral nature of the Cannes Film Festival, revealing the beauty in the traces left by the passage of men. Harold Vernhes ( Un x 5 , 2012) has continued his gaze on the city for twenty years, mixing graphics and the aura of urban landscapes.

Finally, Ayako Sakuragi ( Hundred and eight days - 4 , 2023) transforms a journey into a photographic memory, Xidong Luo ( Karmic Crossings - I , 2025) blurs time and reality, and Olivier Huitel and Jochen Cerny sublimate form and architecture in their powerful images.

Each of these works invites us to look differently , to be surprised and to rediscover poetry in the world around us.

Discover his selection

"Un x 5" (2012), Harold Vernhes (HA-VE), Photography, 60x45 cm