Christophe Darbelet, a photographer from Vichy, has captured the essence of rural football through his lens, offering a unique and profoundly human perspective on this popular sport. His work skillfully combines portraits of players, landscapes, and life scenes, immersing us in the world of football far from the grand urban arenas, where the sport is experienced with a more palpable authenticity and passion.
In this book, Darbelet navigates between portraits of footballers, often captured in moments of reflection or challenge, and the rural landscapes that serve not only as the backdrop for these sporting encounters but also as a character in its own right within his compositions.
What stands out in Darbelet’s work is his ability to treat his subjects without artifice, weaving a narrative where absurdity and humor coexist naturally. His photographs depict not only the beauty and complexity of the rural world but also the central place that football occupies there, as a vector of community, sharing, and identity. This approach, both tender and mischievous, offers a refreshing view of the sport, far from clichés and conventional representations.
Through his images, Christophe Darbelet invites broader reflection on the role of sport in our societies, particularly in rural areas where traditions and passions are passed down from generation to generation. His work is a vibrant tribute to these communities and their unique way of living football, a universal sport rooted in local lands and stories.
Christophe Darbelet
Photographe
Christophe Darbelet offers a documentary vision constructed through series. Over time and through his works, the narrative evolves, with reality mingling with the strange to the point of almost becoming fictional. The themes are treated without artifice, woven with threads of absurdity and humor. With the series “Le Pompon,” created from the caravan of the Tour de France, he addresses the notion of hope by photographing an audience captivated by gifts falling from the sky. A book will be published in 2022 by Editions Quelque part sur terre.
Éric Chevillard
Ecrivain
Eric Chevillard Born in 1964 in La Roche-sur-Yon. Now lives in Dijon. His novels, published by Editions de Minuit since 1987 (including Mourir m’enrhume, Palafox, La Nébuleuse du crabe, Du hérisson, Oreille rouge, Ronce-Rose, Monotobio, La Chambre à brouillard), are not quite novels, his short stories (Scalps, Commentaire autorisé sur l’état de squelette, published by Editions Fata Morgana) are not exactly short stories, his plays (Zoologiques) are not theatrical at all, his poetry (Iguanes et moines) is not what one would call poetry, and his journal, L’Autofictif, is not intimate at all since it has been diligently published on his blog since 2007 before being compiled annually by Editions l’Arbre vengeur (latest title: L’Autofictif sans égards pour le lecteur sensible).