Mathieu Asselin

Mathieu Asselin (born 25 June 1973) is a French-Venezuelan photographer artist specializing in documentary photography and portraiture related to social issues. He is based in New York City.

Mathieu Asselin
Asselin in 2017
Born	June 25, 1973 (1973-06-25) Aix-en-Provence, France
Nationality	France, Venezuela
Known for	Photography
Notable work	Documentary
Website	mathieuasselin.com

In 2017 his book Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation, "a powerful indictment of corporate power and ecological irresponsibility",^[1] won the Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation First PhotoBook Award and was a finalist for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize.

Life and work

Asselin began his career working on film productions in Caracas, Venezuela^[2] and then as a photographer in Europe.^[3] He currently works as a photographer in New York City.^[4]

In 2011 Asselin photographed Occupy Wall Street protestors in Zuccotti Park, using a small open-air studio.^[5] The same year he made portraits of people who had lived through the 2011 Joplin tornado in Joplin, Missouri.^[6]

In 2014, he was Artist in Residence with Imagine Science Films.^[7][8]

For his book Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation, Asselin spent five years photographing the damaged landscape around Anniston, Alabama, caused by a Monsanto chemical factory.^[9][1][10] Sean O'Hagan, writing in The Guardian, described it as "a powerful indictment of corporate power and ecological irresponsibility",^[11] "a book about corporate impunity that unfolds through the deft interweaving of Asselin’s own images and a wealth of found material, from personal testimonies to courtroom files."^[1] O'hagan included it in his "best photography books of 2017".^[1]

Publications

Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation.

• Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation. With the contribution of Ricardo Baez (designer) and Frédérique Wallis Davy (writer).
  • Dortmund, Germany: Kettler, 2017. ISBN 978-3-86206-657-5. English edition.
  • Monsanto: une Enquête Photographique. Arles, France: Actes Sud, 2017. ISBN 978-2-330-07805-8. French edition.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• 2012: Portrait of a Tornado Path, See Gallery, New York^[6]
• 2013: Portraits of Tornado Path, Indie Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel^[12]
• 2016: The Ninety-Nine Percent, Breda Photo Festival. Breda, Holland^[13]
• 2017: Monsanto, une enquête photographique, Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France^[14][15][16]
• 2017: Monsanto, une enquête photographique, Hangar J1, Marseille, France^[17]
• 2019: Stock Market, National Centre for Photography during Ballarat International Foto Biennale^[18]

Group exhibitions

• Plat(t)form, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland, 2014^[19]

Awards

• 2017: Finalist, Deutsche Börse Photography Prize for Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation^[20][21][22]
• 2017: Winner, First PhotoBook award, Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards^[23][4]