‘By family, I understand...’ Happy New Year with Jean-Louis Schoellkopf

With or without children, big or small, single-parent or couple, nomadic or sedentary, with or without pets... Family models today faithfully convey the vast breadth of human diversity, as the photographer Jean-Louis Schoellkopf is well aware. Interested in documenting ways of life in contemporary societies, he prefers the urban periphery to the centre of the city, anonymous lives to media personalities, and private gestures to public ones. His series of portraits often focus on the idea of ​​family and the form that bonding takes in today's cities. When, in 1988, he wanted to photograph some of the inhabitants of Strasbourg, he opted for single people. His portraits show that, both in this lifestyle choice and beyond our differences, there is a universal bond that makes us equal. As he himself said: ‘By family, I understand all the occupants of a property. Singles, roommates, couples with or without children, of all ages, from all walks of life and all backgrounds.’ Happy New Year, families!