Luis Carlos Tovar, winner of the 3rd edition of the Prix Elysée, with the support of Parmigiani Fleurier - Musée de l'Elysée
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Luis Carlos Tovar, winner of the 3rd edition of the Prix Elysée, with the support of Parmigiani Fleurier Elysée Lausanne
Prix Elysée Elysée Lausanne Press release 22.06.19 2/3
2/14
The Musée de l’Elysée is pleased to
announce the winner of the 3rd edition of the
Prix Elysée: the Colombian photographer
Luis Carlos Tovar. Chosen by an international
jury of experts among eight nominees, his
identity was revealed to the public during the
Nuit des images, Saturday, June 22, 2019.
Luis Carlos Tovar’s work aims at "revealing/
unveiling how memory takes shape" and
more precisely how "overlaying personal
and historical memory gave [him] the
opportunity to re-think the ecology and
metabolism of photographs."
The Musée de l’Elysée and Parmigiani Fleurier would like to
congratulate Luis Carlos Tovar, the Colombian photographer born
in Bogotà (Colombia) in 1978, winner of the third edition of the Prix
Elysée, for his project entitled My Father’s Garden. The starting point
for Luis Carlos Tovar’s work is a photograph, but, paradoxically, one
that he has never seen. It is the “proof of life” of his father, taken
hostage by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) in
Columbia. Tovar has other traces to fill his father’s silences – the
titles of the books he read in the jungle, the turquoise butterflies
he kept between the books’ pages, and the Amazon landscapes
he tries to recreate in his garden. These enable him to imagine his
father’s pain, but never to fully understand it.
Luis Carlos Tovar speaks about his project
"The starting point for this project is a photograph that reveals my
father’s survival during his abduction by the FARC (Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia) in 1980. The photograph, a Polaroid
hidden among the small myths of my family history, is unknown to
me. Its existence is a rumor, a depiction from my sister’s memory,
the only person who has seen the image, which is jealously
guarded by my father among his most hidden and personal files.
The day he was stripped of his freedom, my father held me in
his arms. He says that during his kidnapping, nineteen guerrillas
attempted to indoctrinate him by means of three books: Karl
Marx’s Capital, The Bolivian Diary of Ernesto Che Guevara and
Lenin’s What Is To Be Done? My father’s salvation was laughter
and the bold statement that, if he were to die, he would do so with
the satisfaction of having lived a full life. A while later, having read
the indoctrinating books, my father tried to strike up a dialogue.
This initiative revealed that none of the guerrillas guarding him
could read.
Because the son in his arms was so small and the memory of his
features so blurred, my father invented a way of remembering: he
hunted turquoise butterflies (Morpho amathonte), preserving them
between the page of the books. Chasing butterflies became a
metaphor for his struggle for freedom.
Cover: © Luis Carlos Tovar, My Father’s Garden, 2019 / Prix Elysée
Above: © Luis Carlos Tovar, My Father’s Garden, 2019 / Prix Elysée
Luis Carlos Tovar, 2018 © Mathilda Olmi
Prix Elysée Elysée Lausanne Press release 22.06.19 3/3
3/14
While he was held hostage, my father was taken through
My father’s garden Le jardin de mon père
stretches of the Amazon and saw landscapes he had never seen (proof of life)
Luis Carlos Tovar
(preuve de vie)
Luis Carlos Tovar
before. He contemplated the jungle and when he was finally freed, The starting point for this project is a photograph Le point de départ de cette réflexion est une photographie
he began to inhabit places surrounded by plants. Since then, he
that reveals my father’s survival during his abduction de mon père envoyée comme preuve de vie après son
by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of enlèvement en 1980 par les Forces Armées
Colombia) in 1980. The photograph, a Polaroid Révolutionnaires de Colombie (FARC). Cette
hidden among the small myths of my family history, photographie, un Polaroïd dissimulé dans les petits
is (an object) unknown to me. Its existence is a mythes de mon histoire familiale, est un objet qui m’est
rumor, a depiction from my sister’s memory, the only inconnu. Son existence est une rumeur, enfouie dans les
has been seeking to recreate nature in his new home in the city
person who has seen the image, which is jealously souvenirs de ma sœur, la seule
guarded by my father among his most hidden à avoir vu l’image, jalousement cachée par mon père
and personal files. dans ses archives les plus intimes et les plus secrètes.
My sister saw the image in 1989. Ma sœur a vu cette image en 1989.
The day he was stripped of his freedom, my father Le jour où il a été privé de sa liberté, mon père célébrait
far from the town of his childhood. The pain of others is always
celebrated his brother Luis Carlos’s birthday, and l’anniversaire de son frère, Luis Carlos, et me tenait dans
held me in his arms. However, the captors, were ses bras. Ses ravisseurs étaient à la recherche de mon
looking for my uncle, whom my father decided to oncle, mais mon père a choisi de prendre sa place.
supplant. The impersonation was motivated by the Sa décision de se supplanter à son frère a été motivée
certainty that, if my uncle, a military, was captured, par la certitude que, si mon oncle, militaire, était capturé,
he would be murdered. il serait immanquablement assassiné.
abstract and indistinct. Our perception of it is extremely elusive. My father says that during the months of his
kidnapping, nineteen guerrillas attempted to
indoctrinate him, through three books: Karl Marx’s
The Capital, Che’s diary in Bolivia, Che Guevara’s
Mon père raconte que, durant les mois de sa
séquestration, dix-neuf guérilleros ont essayé de
l’endoctriner à travers la lecture de trois livres : Le
Capital de Karl Marx, Journal de Bolivie, du Che
We can imagine it but never fully understand it, never truly inhabit it.
and What to do? by Lenine. The guerrillas narrated Guevara, et Que faire ? de Lénine. Les guérilleros
their guilts in their sleep, and my father’s salvation racontaient leurs exactions dans leur sommeil, et la
was the laughter and the bold statement that if he réaction de mon père était le rire et l’audace d’affirmer
parted, he would do so with the satisfaction of que, s’il devait finir ainsi, il s’en irait avec la satisfaction
having lived a full life. d’une vie accomplie.
This impossibility is symbolized in two ways: my father adamantly
Having read the books of indoctrination, my father Après avoir lu les livres d’endoctrinement, mon père
tried to strike dialogue. This initiative revealed that a essayé d’instaurer un dialogue avec ses ravisseurs.
most of the guerrillas who guarded him couldn’t read. Son initiative lui permit de comprendre que la majorité
des guérilleros qui le surveillaient ne savaient pas lire.
Because the son in his arms was so small and the
memory of his features was blurry, my father Parce que le fils qu’il tenait dans ses bras au moment
refuses to show me the photograph and my work on it begins
invented a way of remembering: he hunted butterflies, de son enlèvement était si petit et que ses traits étaient
preserving them among the leaves of the books. encore imprécis, mon père inventa une autre manière
Butterflies chasing as a metaphor of his struggle for de se souvenir : il chassait des papillons et les conservait
freedom. entre les pages des livres. Ces papillons sont la
métaphore de son combat pour la liberté.
During his kidnapping, my father toured Amazonian
without ever having seen it."
stretches and witnessed landscapes never before Durant sa captivité, mon père a parcouru les étendues
traveled. The jungle has been his house for a few du territoire amazonien, et découvert des paysages
months, that he describes as a house where the sun qui lui étaient inconnus. La jungle a été sa maison
never rises ; blue and deep. When he was freed pour quelques mois, qu’il décrit comme une maison
and moved to another city, he began to inhabit où le jour ne se lève jamais ; bleue et profonde.
his new spaces through the obsessive act of being Après avoir retrouvé
surrounded by plants, seeking to recreate his sa liberté et changé de ville, il a commencé à habiter
childhood garden. ses nouveaux espaces à travers l’acte obsessif
de s’entourer de plantes, cherchant à recréer le
The pain of others always comes to us in an jardin de son enfance.
Luis Carlos Tovar’s background
abstract and blurred way. We can intuit it in a very
elusive way. We can also imagine it, but never La douleur de l’autre nous touche toujours de manière
fully understand it, never truly inhabit it. This abstraite et trouble. Nous pouvons la deviner mais
impossibility is symbolized in two ways: my elle reste insaisissable. Nous pouvons l’imaginer,
father has been adamantly reluctant to grant the peut-être, mais jamais la comprendre entièrement, jamais
photograph, and my work on it begins without l’habiter réellement. Cette impossibilité est symbolisée
Luis Carlos Tovar is a visual artist and educator who lives and works
having ever seen it. ici à travers deux faits : que mon père se soit montré si
réticent à partager cette photographie et que mon travail
Julian Herbet, in his poem Silencio: “There is sur elle se soit engagé sans jamais l’avoir vue.
silence between a father and son when the father
can not explain his life, although it is the source of Comme le dit Julian Herbert dans son poème Silencio :
misunderstanding” « Il y a du silence entre un père et son fils lorsqu’un père
in Paris. He considers art as a vessel for reflection, a catalyst for
ne peut pas expliquer sa vie, même si c’est une source
d’incompréhension »
building resilience, and an agent for inner and outer transformation.
Tovar explores mutable geographies (i.e. displacement), how
otherness is created, and the role of memory in the present. He
has worked with vulnerable populations in his country and with
refugees in Europe. Committed to social justice, he has developed
decentralized pedagogical spaces, where participants inhabit their
individual and collective journeys. His work integrates different
mediums such as photography, painting, mixed media and video
installation. He has exhibited in Buenos Aires, Bogotà, Rome, Paris,
Madrid and Pingyao. He won the PhotoEspaña Discovery Prize
(Madrid) in 2017, completed a residency at the Musée du quai Branly
(2017-18) and another at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris
(2018-19).
The jury of the third edition
The jury was composed of Anahita Ghabaian Etehadieh,
Founder and Director of the Silk Road Gallery (Tehran), Curt Holtz,
Editor of Prestel Publishing (Munich), Yasufumi Nakamori, Chief
Curator of international art (photography) at the Tate Modern
(London), agnès b, Fashion designer, Galery owner and Collector
(Paris) and the founding partners Tatyana Franck, Director of the
Musée de l’Elysée and Michel Parmigiani, Founder of Parmigiani
Fleurier (Fleurier). The jury also acknowledges the seven nominees,
Laia Abril, Mathieu Asselin, Claude Baechtold, Nicola Lo
CalzoAlexandra Catiere, Alinka Echevarría and Gregory
Halpern for their invaluable contributions, particularly within the
framework of the Nominees’ Book.
Launched in 2014, the Prix Elysée is a prize supporting artistic
production in the field of photography. Result of a partnership
between the Musée de l’Elysée and Parmigiani Fleurier, it offers
financial help and curatorial guidance to artists with a passion for
photography and books, so they can take a decisive step in their
career.
www.prixelysee.ch
© Luis Carlos Tovar, My Father’s Garden, 2019 / Prix Elysée
© Luis Carlos Tovar, My Father’s Garden, 2019 / Prix Elysée
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