Mondino

Jean Baptiste (1949). French photographer and director, from an Italian family. An eclectic author, he has used some highly diverse methods in order to communicate his art: in 1977 he opened the Studio de l’Air where he created rock records following his interests as a musician and composer. The following year he turned to photography, producing black-and-white portraits and fashion images. During the 1980s, he became established by working not only as a photographer but also a graphic designer, art director, and the author of adverts and videos for Bjork, Madonna, and other pop singers. He has published in the most important magazines in the sector and worked for YSL, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alaïa, Calvin Klein, Adidas, and Printemps. He combines innovative techniques with a real talent for images and compositions, creating sophisticated photographs that breathe life into a fantastical and unreal world, dominated by luxury and glamour, but also a hint of transgression. His style is typified by his artfully ugly rendition of the model Kate Moss and his image of a spectator in front of Courbet’s The Origins of the World, which plays with the perspective to give the impression that the figure’s head is entering the genitalia depicted in the painting. In 1999, he published the volume Déja vu and in 2003 Two Much, whose title refers to the excesses of contemporary society as well as the fact that it was the second volume. Also in 2003, he produced highly creative images for the Lavazza Calendar and presented his only personal collection at Carla Sozzani’s premises in Milan. It was called On Sale as a reminder that his products are commercial works rather than pieces of art.