Still The Bull

Still The Bull:

The bull represents one of humanity’s most enduring and ancient visual motifs.

The bull has been documented throughout history, from prehistoric cave paintings to its role as a national symbol. This project began when I noticed a recurring shadow of a bull cast on the doors of the Arènes de Sommières. These moments evoked both wonder and familiarity, suggesting that something primal was briefly revealed.

This work explores the relationship between these fleeting shadows and their contemporary counterparts: a butcher’s statue made with modern sculpting methods, a digitally generated poster for the Camarguaise bull games, and the lasting architecture of the arena. Each medium presents the bull differently, giving it commercial, cultural, or symbolic significance.

Together, the photographs trace a lineage of image-making that moves from instinctual representations to institutionalised forms, from fleeting shadows to constructed objects. Instead of presenting a single image of the bull, the project offers a series of observations, each defined by its moment and the circumstances of its creation.