The photographer Olivier Jude inaugurated his exhibition « Women and Diving » in Russia on May 15th. Prince Albert II of Monaco was present at this event to admire these images taken in the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea.After several exhibitions in France, Italy, and Spain, and winning third place at the diving show competition in 2018, the public can discover the artistic project of photographer Olivier Jude at the « Ekaterina » Cultural Foundation in Moscow.
Enhancing the underwater environmentThrough this exhibition, the photographer wishes to showcase the beauty of the underwater environment, particularly that of the Principality he hails from. « Monaco possesses rich marine treasures, I keep saying it, and today I have the pleasure of demonstrating it to present to all sea enthusiasts, divers, and artists of all stripes, that our marine environment is unique and still very rich » he enthuses.
In each of the exhibited photos, the photographer’s wife, Sylvie Laurent, who makes custom costumes to match the photographed environment, can be seen. « I wish to merge with nature, and that is why we carefully choose the costume. For green algae, it will be green, for reefs, it will be multicolored » she explains. Underwater photographer and half-air half-water technique aficionado, Olivier Jude refuses, as a matter of principle, to retouch his images. « Life is interesting enough and it should in no way be altered« , he declared to the Russian newspaper Moscow Evening.
Olivier Jude notably enhances, through his images, the Monaco breakwater. He loves photographing this unique place, particularly for its colors: « the flora has settled on the links and the metal oxidation gives an orange color that is complementary with the blue of the Mediterranean » he describes. But he also discovered « an unsuspected fauna with hundreds of anthias swirling in the links, amidst colorful bryozoans, commonly called sea rose in the Mediterranean. What’s incredible for us is to see the number of anthias and their size!« , he exclaims.
This exhibition was made possible thanks to a meeting between Olivier Jude and Ekaterina Semenikhin, Honorary Consul of Russia in Monaco. It will run until July 28th. Divers who wish to discover it can visit the « Ekaterina » Cultural Foundation or on Phoctopus.
Julien Barletta