2nd place
silver star award
romain thiery
france
title
Requiem pour pianos
About hundred of his photographs are focused on a central object: the piano; sometimes with some of its keys missing, sometimes completely dismantled but always sitting imposingly. Impressive and incongruous, it is there. It is where, not so long ago, grace, luxury and a respected novelty used to reign.
What is it about the piano that evokes such nostalgia and strong emotions within us, even after centuries as a household instrument ? It must be said that music instruments are, for us, forever beautiful, almost deified. Thus, even when time damages them, we are attached to them, we respect them.
In a mess that leads us to ask ourselves a hundred questions, a dust-covered piano is erected and its nobleness is striking, its grandeur lies deep within the basics of our culture.
Above all, Romain Thiery has understood that everything but a grand piano can be taken.The inhabitants left and took with them their belongings, and probably their furniture as well. What he wants to show is the importance and the weight of social codes: what better then than an instrument made of two-hundred and fifty kilograms of cast iron delicately set with precious wood? Is the piano an object or a tool?
Romain Thiery believes the piano to be, in his own words, « deeply rooted in the depths of our culture » and sought to explore the instrument from an original angle. He made his life’s mission to combine his two biggest passions and set out to find abandoned mansions around Europe where old pianos had been left behind. His modus operanti would be to scout buildings with abandoned and often broken pianos inside and document them, standing like derelict yet graceful centerpieces within equally derelict interiors, ravaged by the merciless passing of time. The series that emerged from Thiery’s work is called « Requiem pour pianos » and has catapulted the photographer name into notoriety among tastemakers and art connoisseurs around the world.
Thiery's photography has been commissioned by musical institutions such as Steinway & Sons in Germany ; the most pretigious piano brand in the world, and MusicTheatertage in Vienna in Austria. In addition, he has collaborated with book publishers, music publishers and artists around the world. Work of Romain Thiery was featured in interviews for ElPais, DerSpiegel, LonelyPlanet, Cultura Inquieta, Aesthetica Magazine and many more.
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entry description
The “Requiem for pianos” series is a proof of Romain Thiery’s attachment to music and photography. He says that both are his passions. Tirelessly practising Chopin on his grand piano in his workshop-house, he is also the photographer who, on one of his urban explorations, captures the picture of an instrument lying there and further intensifying the mystery surrounding the place.About hundred of his photographs are focused on a central object: the piano; sometimes with some of its keys missing, sometimes completely dismantled but always sitting imposingly. Impressive and incongruous, it is there. It is where, not so long ago, grace, luxury and a respected novelty used to reign.
What is it about the piano that evokes such nostalgia and strong emotions within us, even after centuries as a household instrument ? It must be said that music instruments are, for us, forever beautiful, almost deified. Thus, even when time damages them, we are attached to them, we respect them.
In a mess that leads us to ask ourselves a hundred questions, a dust-covered piano is erected and its nobleness is striking, its grandeur lies deep within the basics of our culture.
Above all, Romain Thiery has understood that everything but a grand piano can be taken.The inhabitants left and took with them their belongings, and probably their furniture as well. What he wants to show is the importance and the weight of social codes: what better then than an instrument made of two-hundred and fifty kilograms of cast iron delicately set with precious wood? Is the piano an object or a tool?
about the photographer
Romain Thiery, a native of France who lives in Montpellier, is a self-taught professional photographer, born on July 4 1988. Romain was a amateur pianist starting learning piano at the age of 5 years old. Starting photography 10 years ago following the work of his mother specialized in heritage photography. That hobby turned into a passion and, eventually, a profession the day he found a forgotten piano in an abandoned castle in south of France.Romain Thiery believes the piano to be, in his own words, « deeply rooted in the depths of our culture » and sought to explore the instrument from an original angle. He made his life’s mission to combine his two biggest passions and set out to find abandoned mansions around Europe where old pianos had been left behind. His modus operanti would be to scout buildings with abandoned and often broken pianos inside and document them, standing like derelict yet graceful centerpieces within equally derelict interiors, ravaged by the merciless passing of time. The series that emerged from Thiery’s work is called « Requiem pour pianos » and has catapulted the photographer name into notoriety among tastemakers and art connoisseurs around the world.
Thiery's photography has been commissioned by musical institutions such as Steinway & Sons in Germany ; the most pretigious piano brand in the world, and MusicTheatertage in Vienna in Austria. In addition, he has collaborated with book publishers, music publishers and artists around the world. Work of Romain Thiery was featured in interviews for ElPais, DerSpiegel, LonelyPlanet, Cultura Inquieta, Aesthetica Magazine and many more.
back to gallery