Belleville

Since 2010 Thomas Boivin has been making beautiful, contemplative black and white photographs of his Paris neighborhood and the people who live there.  Belleville is a place that is both emblematic of the popular notions of Paris and constantly changing. Set in the eastern part of Paris, it is a multicultural area of the city that attracts artists and those new to France. 

“I started to photograph its streets and people as soon as I moved there, and kept photographing for years. Photographing people, above all, was what I found meaningful. Although the photographs hardly depict the city, I find they convey the sensation that I had, walking the streets of Belleville: A mixture of beauty and decay, of joyful moments and sadness, the warm feeling of light and the bitter sweet sensation that one can experience walking around all day, searching for a stranger’s eyes..”
– Thomas Boivin