Cities on Earth

Founded in 1991, French photography collective Tendance Floue was established in the wake of anti‑globalisation movements with the idea of working together, keeping its independence and conquering a space of freedom without concessions. Over the years, the collective has grown from 5 photographers in 1991, to 11 in 1996, 14 in 2011 and 17 in 2018. The collective identity has been maintained and joint projects have become increasingly important. Above and beyond their photographic aesthetics, all Tendance Floue members share a point of view on the world and an atypical sensibility. They wish to create emotions rather than simply something to look at. Tendance Floue sets itself apart from photography’s central and obvious value of documenting the world, preferring to constantly question it. The meeting and confrontation of individual photographic styles within the collective allow the field of examination to be opened up, while enriching each member’s viewpoint and particular sensibility, inspiring reflection rather than imposing an answer. Twenty-nine years after its creation, Tendance Floue is today recognised as an important player in French photography, with major institutions calling upon its collective creativity.

David Chandler is a writer, curator and editor. He was assistant curator of photography at the National Portrait Gallery, London (1982–1988); head of exhibitions at The Photographers’ Gallery, London (1988–1995); and director of Photoworks, Brighton (1997–2010). He has written widely on photography and the visual arts for numerous books and journals, and has contributed a number of important essays to monographs on leading British and international photographers, including Paul Graham, Jem Southam, Peter Fraser, Rinko Kawauchi, Mark Power, Susan Derges, Ori Gersht, Vanessa Winship and Tom Wood. David is honorary professor of photography at the University of Plymouth.

Muriel Enjalran is an art critic and curator who has directed the CRP/Centre Régional de la Photographie Hauts-de-France since 2015. Her field of research involves the renewal of different artistic forms of engagement in the public sphere. She is also interested in the relationship and contribution of history to images produced in an artistic context. Associate curator of the first Biennale de Belleville (2010) and Arts in Marrakech (AiM) International Biennale (2009), Muriel Enjalran is a specialist in the work of Hamish Fulton. Since 2012 she has been part of New York-based Independent Curators International (ICI) and was awarded a residency at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago in 2015. She is currently pursuing her exploration of socially engaged artistic practices.