“We blocked the meter to get electricity”: Pierre and Gilles recount the beginnings of their legendary duo
Interview: Some followed the classical path, others took more winding paths. Six artists tell us about their beginnings. This week, underground rock and a sense of kitsch with the visual artist duo.
Interview by Julien Bordier
Pierre Commoy (left) and Gilles Blanchard at home in Pré-Saint-Gervais, June 17, 2025. THOMAS CHÉNÉ FOR “LE NOUVEL OBS”
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Like cruise ships, their photos have traveled the world. We know them for the image of the sailor for Jean-Paul Gaultier, or Etienne Daho in a striped sweater on the cover of "La Notte, la notte." Born in La Roche-sur-Yon and Le Havre, Pierre, the photographer, and Gilles, the painter, are currently exhibiting their "Marine Worlds" in Deauville. In the same boat since 1976, the duo looks back on their beginnings. Meeting in their candy box in Pré-Saint-Gervais, near Paris, amidst statues of Stormtroopers, Buddha, and Batman. A world of ultra-charged decor, in keeping with their flashy and marvelous photos.
When you were little, what did you dream of becoming?Pierre I wanted to be a singer, a photographer, a designer… Rather solitary, I drew all the time. My parents, opticians, worked a lot. La Roche-sur-Yon was a rather sad town. I discovered cinema at my nanny's house through the glamorous images published in the newspapers. They triggered my desire to take photos. As a teenager, I started taking portraits of my friends…
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