Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation
Mathieu Asselin
Actes Sud
English, French
Softcover
184 pages
200 x 260 mm
2017
ISBN 9782330124076
For Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation, the Franco- Venezuelan photographer Mathieu Asselin was awarded the Aperture Foundation First Book Award in 2017, the Dummy Book Award Kassel 2016, and a special mention for the Luma Rencontres Dummy Book Award 2016 at the Rencontres de la Photographie (Arles), his book is shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation 2018. Beyond the distinguished editorial object, this recognition enshrines an exceptional documentary process conducted for five years through Vietnam and the United States, which portrays an overwhelming portrait of the ancient and current practices of this giant chemical industry.
In order to construct his meticulous investigation, Mathieu Asselin exhumed and consulted hundreds of documents – press excerpts, judgments, archives, films, and testimonies – focusing on facts or dates that dramatically illustrate the ravages of all kinds which mark the company’s long history of sprawling development. Thus, the drama of the small town of Aniston (Alabama, 1970), that became a ghost city as a result of releases into the air and water of the infamous and poisonous chlorinated PCB derivatives produced by the local factory. Thus, the terrifying Agent Orange – another Monsanto product – an acid-based herbicide and defoliant which the US military will detonate on the plains of Vietnam from 1968 to 1971, permanently contaminating up to ten percent of its territory and causing thousands of victims.
The book also methodically illuminates another facet of Monsanto’s processes to establish its global grip: propaganda and communication. Whether they are advertisements describing an ideal world where chemistry and its derivatives contribute to universal well-being, or subjugating contracts signed by thousands of farmers condemning them to an unfair economic model and ecological nuisance, each document published by Monsanto can be analyzed as an exercise in disinformation. Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation is intended to pay tribute to the hundreds of associations, to the thousands of famous or anonymous individuals, “to the NGO’s who oppose with tenacity and at their own risk the perils of the Monsanto lobby”.
(source: https://www.mathieuasselin.com/monsanto)
About the Artist
Mathieu Asselin lives in Arles, France. He began his career working on film productions in Caracas, Venezuela, but shaped his photography practice in the United States. His work mainly consists out of long-term investigative documentary projects, such as his latest book ‘Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation, which received international acclaim, winning the Kassel FotoBook Festival Dummy Award in 2016, the Aperture Foundation First Book Award in 2017, and has been shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize in 2018. Les Rencontre d’Arles in France, Photographer’s Gallery in London, Fotomuseum Antwerp in Belgium, and the European Parliament in Strasbourg are amongst recent venues where his work has been exhibited.
mathieuasselin.com
(source: https://www.mathieuasselin.com/about-contact)
About the Publisher
Actes Sud, founded in Southern France in 1978, has quickly established itself as a presence in the region with a strong graphic identity and translations of foreign texts. Today, Actes Sud distinguishes itself by pursuing the spirit of discovery and sharing, publishing a wide range of selections in literature, the humanities, theater, fine arts, comics, and cuisine.
actes-sud.fr
(source: https://www.artbook.com/actessud99.html)
