Vincent Fournier's exhibition at the Diesel Art Gallery shows a love and fascination with technology, but it is not a straightforward adoration. The French photographer combines this with an impish sense of humor and also brings a sociologist's view to his subjects, which are portrayed with luscious precision.
Despite the relatively small space there are three projects on show; "Space Project," "Post Natural History" and "Man Machine." The first two could be said to have their roots in the pioneering work of Albert Renger-Patzsch, who embraced modernity through the documentation of industrial and natural forms. Fournier adds dry wit to the "straight" photography aesthetic and reminds us that nothing goes out of fashion quite like the future, and that technology can define us even though we are nominally its creators.
A photograph taken at the Russia Cosmonaut Training Center, for example, shows a pair of worn spacesuit gloves against the incongruent background of kitsch wallpaper. Another taken at the European spaceport in French Guiana is a conscious mash-up of comedy and Stanley Kubrick's "2001" (it helps if you've also seen Jacques Tati struggling with modernity in "Mon Oncle" or "Playtime" to get this). The detail and ambiguity in these images is mesmerising.