Charles Fréger

Since the early years of the new century Charles Fréger (b. 1975, Bourges, France) has been interested in (professional) clothing and uniforms, depicting them in portraits of soldiers, athletes, students and other young people. One of his first photographic series, Pattes Blanches (2000, White Paws), was shot in the French Jura, at the École nationale d’industrie laitière et de biotechnologies (National College for the Dairy Industry and Biotechnology) in Poligny. For more than two years Fréger observed the young men and women in the college as, clad in their white coats, hoods and gloves, they learned everything about lactic acid fermentation. For his portraits, Fréger always follows a strict protocol: once the tripod, flash and screen have been installed, he places the subject among them, surrounded by cameras and other equipment, and photographs them in a fully frontal pose, to create complete body portraits or busts. Within the framework he himself has decided on, Fréger also focuses on the material aspects – milky skin, sparkling clean tiles, brushed aluminium and white aprons reflect the light and seem to relate to one other.