The document provides details about several photography projects by Gabriel Gauffre, including: 1) "Brulures" which featured photographs with burns that occurred spontaneously on the film with no manipulation, questioning our perception of reality. 2) "Occupy, an Identity" which documented the Occupy movement and how the community formed in protest camps became an important part of participants' identities. 3) "Saddam's Ghosts" which explores an abandoned Iraqi embassy in East Berlin through archeological-style photographs that uncover traces of the people who lived and worked there.

1. PROJECTS
TEARSHEETS
GABRIEL GAUFFRE

2. PROJECTS

3. B R U L U R E S

4. It is as is the medium revolted against itself, maiming subjects, destroying land-
scapes, muting people, burning through one of the many means we have to mirror
reality. this entity decided, in the space of a single roll of film, to manifest itself.
Through the blackness created by these anomalies, it looks at us straight in the eye:
“do you believe your reality is the only one?”, it seems to ask. The pointlessness of
our existence shines back at us through its darkness.
No manipulation whatsoever was applied to the photographs, digital or otherwise,
as the burns shot through the middle of the film strip. From the photographer to the
film manufacturer, all the way down to the technician in the lab, no one knows how
this ocurred. Some say it’s a temperature issue, others say it was a drying problem.
After trying again and again to replicate it, fruitelessly investigating the possible rea-
sons, it was realized that one cannot replicate the organic.
Photography in the 21st century is crafted with minutiae, every single shot perfectly
framed, planned, each pixel thought through, every mistake corrected. with time
mankind has become more and more obsessed with control, worsening with the ad-
vent of the digital age. We are constantly anxious, worried about things we have no
control over while forgetting the realities we can alter.
Brulures was presented at the Basement 6 exhibition space in October 2015 as
a solo exhibition.
Brulures (2016)

10. OCCUPY, AN IDENTITY

11. “Another world is possible, we have lived in the camp“
It has been a year since the first Occupy camp was set up in Zucotti park, New York
City, sparking similar initiatives in the United States. The media have described a
movement on the decline, but occupiers continue to deny it. The camp worked as a
catalyst for long time demands, and was felt by a lot of people as a democratic uto-
pia. They have found another world, and cling onto it through demands and actions.
A huge part of this utopia was the feeling that the community was one, and that all of
the shortcomings and illnesses of the outside world were surmountable. The occupi-
ers had created a society within the society.This society became the only viable one,
and anything outside of it considered misguided. Occupy wants to change the out-
side community, to make it resemble the society they had created in the camp.The
camps have been cleared by the police, but the community remains. This community
gives an identity to the occupiers. Therefore, reinforcing the community reinforces
the identity, which guarantees the movement’s survival. On September 17th, 2011,
protestors decided to Occupy Zucotti park, and many would imitate them in their
own cities. A year later, all of the camps have been dismantled by the police. To cele-
brate the day when occupiers set their first tent, they organized a day of celebration,
attracting occupiers from all over the United States. Other cities in the country did
the same for their own anniversaries. A celebration of a community. The one thing
holding everything together.
Occupy, an Identity was exhibited as part of a group show at the London Col-
lege of Communication.
Occupy, an Identity (2012)

12. Daniel Sieradski, of Occupy Judaism, leads a prayer for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year).
Rosh Hashanah happened to be on the 16th of September, the day before the anniversary.

13. Occupiers on the way to Invesco’s offices, an investment management firm in Washington
D.C.

14. During a civil disobedience traning in Washington Square Park, Occupiers learn that coop-
eration, community, and awareness of their surroundings are the key to achieve goals. Lock-
ing arms in a certain way can prove to be a pain for the police, and can win some precious
time.

15. Many different factions allocate themselves different work. Amongst many, Occuprint is
in charge of anything that is printed, Mutant Legal does free legal support, Medics treat
wounds, and Livetream is in charge of coordinating the hundreds of people that will live
stream from their mobile phones.

16. E Y E

17. EYE started as a very personal project: making sense the overload of information
bombarding my bain when I first moved to China. It evolved into a much stronger
body of work though. I turned into a way to make sense of the world through my
photography, exposing the rationale that my eyes were producing when sending
images to my brain.
Some of these images were taken weeks, if not months apart, only realizing that
this and that images actually fit perfectly together. Single images still punctuate the
body of work, shown as a small zine, giving respite to the reader. These images are
as important as the paired ones, allowing for context as our eyes focus, even just for
a second.
E Y E ( 2017 )

23. SADDAM’S GHOSTS

24. The abandoned Iraqi embassy in east Berlin is no secret to the avid Berlin based
Google user. In 1991, the second Gulf war started, marking the first stage of what
would end up being Saddam Hussein’s conviction and execution in 2006. Iraq be-
came the enemy, and Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, its face.
In 1969, Irak became the first non-aligned state to recognize the German Democrat-
ic Republic as a state. In 1974, they were the first to build an embassy in East Berlin,
designed by an German-Iraqi, architect. It was a symbol of modernity and friend-
ship between the two nations and a way for Iraq to assert its independence on the
international scene. But then, in 1989, the Berlin Wall collapsed under the people’s
sledgehammers. The embassy was then in an awkward political position.
But it wasn’t until Iraq invaded Koweit in 1990 that the newly formed unified German
government decided to order diplomats out of the country. The embassy, which had
a tumultuous history of harboring far-left terrorists and their arms, was now vacant.
War and destruction ensued in Iraq, as it is still happening today. In 2003, Iraq set
up in a new embassy in West Berlin. This building was forgotten, too expensive to
be taken care of, out of reach of the German government. Since it was abandoned,
hundreds of people had been through this building. Taking photos, filling up back-
packs with as many Saddam Hussein portraits as possible, may he be riding horses
into battle or just cracking a warm smile.
When going down some dusty stairs next to the “Gas Room” though, lies a secret
that seems untouched. Piles and Piles of visa applications, some of which envelopes
that haven’t even been opened. Files of East Germans who had been part of the
growing Iraq-GDR friendship, teaching sports, engineering, consulting on heavy ma-
chinery.
Everywhere, traces. On the visa application forms, on stickers on walls and lockers,
ghosts of a former life, of the people who worked, lived, or simply went through the
embassy. Less documentary and more archeological, «Saddam’s Ghosts» cuts a slice
of History and presents it, shows it as a living museum.
Saddam’s Ghots (2013)

32. TEARSHEETS

33. B R U L U R E S
B R O W N I E M A G A Z I N E
S H A N G H A I - S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6
( T E X T A N D I M A G E S )

39. AXEL WITSEL FEATURE
H E I T N I E U W B L A D F O R A F P
B E L G I U M - M A R C H 2 0 1 7

42. M A D E I N C H I N A
A F T E N P O S T M A G A Z I N E
N O R W A Y - M A R C H 2 0 1 5
( T E X T A N D I M A G E S )

46. The way to Tiandoucheng is a fascinating view
of modern China: after driving through the
high-rises and huge housing towers of down-
town Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, traffic gets
less dense, then almost nonexistent. Before
long, about 15 kilometers later, something un-
believable appears: the tip of an Eiffel Tower,
peeking through between newly built residen-
tial skyscrapers. Nine thousand kilometers from
Paris, France, a developer has decided to sell
the European dream to the Chinese customer.
A stroll in this city where the word “Paris” is no-
where to be seen produces one of the strangest
feelings China has to offer. Tiandoucheng, like
it is called here, was first built for 10 000 inhab-
itants. Construction started in 2007, and seems
finished today, even though a few builders still
live around the Eiffel Tower, where they grow
fruits and vegetables, for their meals to be eat-
en in small dorms nearby. Leftover pot noodles
are randomly thrown from the windows creating
mounds of trash next to the Eiffel Tower. Only
1500 people live there now, in the neo-classical
style buildings.
The city itself is built around a central pedestri-
an avenue, dubbed “Xiangshie”, a short name
in Chinese for the Champs-Elysées, Paris’ world
famous avenue. To the North of it stands a repli-
ca of the Eiffel Tower, 108 meters high (a third
of the original). A security guard lives on site,
waving any potential intruders away, tending to
the rotting gate surrounding the edifice. To the
south, the entrance to the “Tiandou Gardens”
is a sight to behold: a near perfect copy of the
Fountain of Apollo leads to a balcony overlook-
ing the gardens on one side, and the Champs-
Elysées on the other. For only 30 yuans, you can
see a copy inspired by the Versailles gardens,
as well as a French village where dozens of
newlyweds get their photo taken. “It’s beautiful
and I like Europe. My parents are going to love
this!” tells Mr. Wang, who came to get his pho-
to taken with the bride, at the top of the stairs
overlooking the gardens.
The gardens themselves sport an interesting ar-
ray of attractions. Asign pointing towards vine-
yards leads to a pile of rubble. Shops are only-
façades, lacking any kind of actual depth, and
most of the signs stuck to thewalls are in Italian,
English, German... none of them in French.
In the part of the neighborhood where few
people actually live, somedetails give away that
this is actually Paris, China. Air Conditioning
units,designed to help cope with the region’s
warm, long and sultry summers, dot the Hauss-
mann-style buildings. Cages, protecting apart-
ments from China’s nationally notorious climb-
ingburglars, cover some windows. The shops
along the “Champs-Elysées” aredesperately
empty, selling silk, Hangzhou’s staple product.
You’ll have to lookvery hard to find a European
restaurant though: the most popular eatery is
theMuslim hand-made noodles shop, and oth-
er businesses offer typical Chinese food.Not a
single bakery in sight.
What could explain the project’s apparent fail-
ure is itsgeographical position. It is located far
from urban centers, whether fromnearby Hang-
zhou or neighboring Shanghai. Connection to
public transportation ispractically nonexistent,
as it needs about two hours, two buses and a bit
ofwalking to get there from central Hangzhou.
Not exactly practical.Today, the neighborhood
spans about 4.5 square kilometers, and lifeisn’t
as busy as it was obviously designed to be. A
few grandmothers walk withtheir grandchildren,
or squeeze on benches enjoying the mid-winter
sun.The project was originally advertised to be
able to house about 100000 people, costing a
whooping 80 billion yuans. But the project that
was actually executed canonly house a tenth of
this number, costing a fraction of the original
budget.Rents span from 800 yuan for a single
room apartment, to 2800 yuanfor a well situ-
ated, 3 rooms family home. The target seems
to be the emergingChinese middle class, seek-
ing more comfortable living at a fair price.Tian-
doucheng is an illustration of the “wild west”
aspect of Chineseurbanization. However, an
economic argument might also help explain
why such ahuge project was started there, right
where farmers were tending fields just 8years
ago.Stephen Roach, a Yale University professor,
thinks these “ghost towns” are merely a sign of
foresight comingfrom Chinese real estate de-
velopers: “China cannot afford to wait to build
itsnew cities. Instead, investment and construc-
tion must be aligned with thefuture influx of ur-
ban dwellers.” Tiandoucheng, dubbed a “sat-
ellite city” byits real estate developer, might
have good days ahead if itself. But this isonly if
Hangzhou, of which it is part, branches out to
its French copycat.

47. F E R M E N T I N G C H A N G E
T H E B O S T O N G L O B E
U S A - A U G U S T 2 0 1 6

50. P A R I S I E N S D E L ’ E S T
V I C E . F R
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5

53. T H A T ‘ S C H I N A
Z H E J I A N G E D I T I O N
A P R I L 2 0 1 4

56. “Get this one, its Hangzhou
food!” says Haijuan pointing
at the “NiouErChan Mian”,
priced 7 yuan on the hand writ-
ten menu outside. Her and her
husband Quanyou have lived in
the BaiJingFang Community for
30 years. The community itself
is scheduled to be demolished
soon. Built in 1983, it lies next to
Yannan Lu, Hangzhou’s most ex-
pensive street, where luxury and
smartphone brands fight for ev-
ery square meter.
Haijuan and Quanyou, however,
keep cooking homemade dishes
to the hungry customers that ven-
ture in the emptying neighbor-
hood. Even though the restau-
rant is seemingly hard to find, it
is never empty. “People like our
food!” says Quanyou with a thick
Hangzhou accent.
Along with the usual shredded
potatoes and fried rice, Hai-
juan also cooks with local veg-
etables they grow in the street.
“The newspapers have talked
about us, they love it!” proudly
says Haijuan, waving a copy of
the local paper. If you stand up
for too long, Quanyou will shout
at you to take a seat, shoving a
stool next to a table that seems
to be as old as the community it-
self. On sunny days, the place is a
welcome break from the heat and
noise of the neighboring streets.
If you take too long to choose,
Quanyou will suggest a dish, ask-
ing only after to his wife is the it’s
available. Haijuan cooks with very
fresh vegetables, which are either
grown from their “street garden”,
or bought the same morning. She
also dries and pickles vegetables
herself, which brings a unique,
welcome freshness your usual
Chinese cuisine.
If you want to experience Quan-
you’s service and Haijuan’s cook-
ing, it’s all happening at the
corner of Yannan Road and Bai-
JingFang street. Go down Bai-
jingFang street and look on your
left. When you see a community
turn left, its the 4th row ! A sign
that reads”Mian, Fan”(noodles,
rice) is visible. You can’t miss it !

57. T H A T ‘ S C H I N A
Z H E J I A N G E D I T I O N
SEPTEMBER 2 0 1 4

60. “Honestly, I wonder why my wife hasn’t
left me yet.” The 72 year old pauses
and takes a puff off his rusty cigarette
pipe. “But she knows I love cameras”.
The Hangzhou Camera museum smells
of dust and cheap cigarettes, and the
old leather of aging camera straps and
cases fill the air.
A retired kindergarten teacher, Gao
Jisheng is the owner of what he claims
to be the first camera museum in all of
Mainland China. He founded it in May
1993, but started collecting the ma-
chines long before. “In the 1930s-50s,
we collected cameras without authoriza-
tion, and couldn’t call it a museum.”He
started his collection when he was 18,
following up on what his father did as a
hobby. The latter left Gao with 20 cam-
eras and an obsession with cameras, old
and new.
Gao reaches for a an old rangefinder
camera in a glass case “this is the first
camera I ever bought, with my first sala-
ry. It still works!” He now has a bout 2000
of them, some Chinese made, but also
a lot of foreign ones. One of his proud-
est acquisitions: A “West Lake Cam-
era”, made in Hangzhou. “It’s the only
camera that was made in Zhejiang, and
I have the last one!” It took him about
4 years to obtain it from the owner, Hu
Qiu Jiang. It set him back 800RMB, a
real fortune when he bought it, in the
70’s. “It was about 20 months of salary,
and my mother sold 5 golden rings for
it” explains Gao, waving his 4-fingered
right hand in the air.
But the masterpiece in his collection is
his British-made Ross camera. The big
wooden box sits on top of a glass case,
collection dust. He bought it in 1989 for
a real fortune: 20,300RMB. “It’s the price
of a house in the countryside! Or a 100
square meters in Hangzhou!”. It is one
of the oldest cameras sold to the public.
When asked how he paid for all of this
and keeps on living, he simply explains
that its all money he saves. “I never ac-
cept money from anyone, and people
have wanted to donate, without asking
for anything back. But I can’t take this,
because I would lose control over the
collection, and the cameras would leak
abroad. It’s my duty to keep this cultural
heritage alive.”

61. T H E H A C K N E Y C I T I Z E N
L O C A L N E W S C O V E R A G E
L O N D O N - U K
M A Y 2 0 1 2 - J U L Y 2 0 1 3

64. BBC.CO.UK - THETIMES.CO.UK
L O N D O N - U K
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2

66. REFERENCES

68. G A B R I E L G A U F F R E
P H O T O G R A P H E R - W R I T E R
+ 8 6 1 8 2 1 7 5 2 3 3 2 3
W W W . G A B R I E L G A U F F R E . C O M
G A B R I E L . G A U F F R E @ G M A I L . C O M