United States • Born in 1955

50 years of photography

It’s unfair to lump them together, but impossible to want to separate them. In the world of photojournalism, David and Peter Turnley are two stars in the same solar system.

Twins born in Indiana, USA, they launched their careers in photography simultaneously in 1973 at just 17 years old, working together on the same road: McClellan Street, one of the poorest areas in their home town of Fort Wayne.Since then, each of the men has forged his own path, occasionally intersecting in the same place -- like in early March 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Two exceptional careers, decorated with the most prestigious prizes and dozens of remarkable stories published around the world.

Always with the same empathy for their subjects in their gazes. La Gacilly pays homage to these masters of photography, celebrating a half-century at humanity’s bedside and in service of photography.

Gazing into the soul

For his coverage of the greatest events of the 20th century, in 1990 David Turnley won the most prestigious prize in the world of journalism: a Pulitzer. But you won’t find any grand images straight from the pages of the history books in this exhibit. Here, we’re exploring another side of David’s talent.

Firstly with the exceptional work Anna and Flander, completed over two years between 1978 and 1980 on a farm near Detroit, Michigan. With extraordinary tenderness, the farmer followed a couple of ageing farmers, the Hamlins, in their daily life, documenting their routine and the vicissitudes of the life of a farmer in rural America in that pivotal era.

Next, with an intimate series documenting Paris and its inhabitants. Like his twin brother, David fell in love with the French capital many years ago, and still lives there to this day. Perhaps because he is American, or maybe simply because of his insatiably curious eye, even after all these years, he’s never stopped photographing Parisians as though he’s new in town. As he wanders the streets, parks and restaurant terraces, in summer and winter, before, during and after Covid, he creates a massive photographic directory of the most beautiful city in the world and the souls who live there.

GARAGE