Pierre-Ange Carlotti’s new photobook is about being single

The photographer who brought you Vetements’ Summercamp book and an exhibition called Bored and Naked, Pierre-Ange Carlotti has just released his latest project. Entitled Bachelor, the book and accompanying exhibition explore his own relationship status as a 28-year-old single man.

When he started the project, Carlotti told Dazed he was “thinking about how important it is for everybody to be with someone and how single people deal with this.” The images focus mostly on couples – emphasising his position as the outsider. 

Shooting strangers, friends and even some ex-lovers, the Corsican photographer wanted to present himself as the bachelor. Although he wanted to get across a message of romance – with the images heavily populated with people exploring each other’s mouths – there is also a melancholy to them. More than just a place to twerk to Rihanna, to him “a dancefloor is just a bunch of selfish people shaking their desire and sadness.” Of course, we all know the feeling – shout out to The Smiths for this lyrical gem on the topic.

While some of the images date back to 2014, they weren’t originally taken with this project in mind. “Me and my friend had been swimming in a giant military box of negatives for weeks and the selection started there,” he says. 

As for what’s next, Carlotti isn’t against the idea of this being an ongoing series. “Probably,” he said, “I haven’t been honest like this before.” So – watch this space.

Bachelor is on display from June 23rd-July 15th at Ellia Art Gallery, 6 rue de la Corderie, 75003 Paris

@blackpierreange