The purpose of this book is the completion of my photographic work “Henri Delleuse.” It is a long-term documentary project (2013–2017) dedicated to my grandfather. The work takes place in Marseille, in the family photo studio “Studio de la Plage” and the adjoining apartment My paternal grandfather, Henri Delleuse, was a photographer in Marseille. He was an exemplary figure and a role model for me: it was with him that I took my very first pictures.

At the beginning of my studies at the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles, alongside other projects, I began photographing him obsessively and in a very direct way, almost as if challenging him. These images were shot with flash and in black and white. From the very start there was little photographic distance between us: the more his aging progressed, the closer I came to him.

This work truly began with the first difficulties linked to his old age. I have always expressed my emotions through images and communicated through photography. It seemed important to me to show my feelings in the face of my grandfather’s physical decline. In this way, I accompanied him until the end.

The project is underpinned by several artistic references—Greco-Roman sculpture, painting (particularly the work of Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon), as well as the photography of Antoine d’Agata. These artists helped me shape my aesthetic and the gaze I directed towards Henri’s body: a sensitive, deeply personal gaze.