Ben Dauchez - Mounia Desert1 #

Mounia Swira #1

- Date of shooting: 2026; year of print: 2026
- Dimensions, paper and printing process: 30x45 Fine Art paper
- Edition, signature, numbering and certificate of authenticity: 1/20
- Condition: New
- Framing: not included

In *Mounia Swira #1*, Ben Dauchez composes a black-and-white image where a female silhouette, seen from behind, unfurls a white veil into the light. The fabric, captured by movement, becomes an almost airy form that responds to the dark line of the body.

Around her, foliage and vegetal silhouettes outline a stripped-down setting. The contrast between the veil’s transparency, the density of the shadows, and the clear sky gives the image an presence that is at once intimate and sculptural.

This photograph explores the relationship between the body, the landscape, and light. Nudity is treated in an artistic, non-explicit register.

Passionate about photography from a young age, Ben DAUCHEZ began in the neighborhood studios of La Rochelle. There he acquired the full set of basics of classical photography—from technique, shooting to retouching, via the laboratory. At 22, freshly graduated, he moved to Paris to refine his training by becoming a set assistant for the Daguerre studios, Le Petit Oiseau va sortir, and Studio Zéro. He had the luck to collaborate with and assist some of the most talented photographers: Bettina RHEIMS, Patrick DEMARCHELIER, Terry RICHARDSON, Ellen VON UNWERTH, Marcus MAM... From certain decisive encounters would spring beautiful projects and long collaborations, notably with André RAU, Bettina RHEIMS (the sultry exhibition INRI and its eponymous book at Editions Albin Michel) and Peter BEARD (the 2009 Pirelli calendar in Botswana).

His photographs have been published, among others, by Condé Nast Editions (French and international), Première, Wallpaper, ID, Madame Figaro, Lifestyles, Dandy Magazine... His universe also interests brands with strongly defined identities for whom he has led institutional and/or advertising campaigns such as Dior (beauty), L'Oréal, Peugeot, Philip Morris, and Burger King (advertising awarded at the Dubai Lynx).

Ben DAUCHEZ has also produced numerous portraits of celebrities (IGGY POP, Woody HALLEN, Grace JONES, Jean DUJARDIN, Gilles LELLOUCHE, Olivier MARCHAL, Carole BOUQUET, Charlotte GAINSBOURG, ...) celebrated figures, men of the world (Olivier DASSAULT, Jacques SEGUELA...), and travelers... This photographic path has since allowed him to freely capture human beauty, aesthetics, and the spiritual essence of each personality.