FOMU | 'MONSANTO®: A PHOTOGRAPHIC INVESTIGATION': Mathieu Asselin
The multinational Monsanto® has been causing controversy for years. Nowadays, the biotechnology producent is most known as the marketleader for genetically manipulated seeds and for its controversial weed killer RoundUp. Mathieu Asselin (FR, °1973) has been researching the drastical repercussions of Monsanto’s® activities on both the population and environment.
Mathieu photographs dumpsites in the United States, portraits both Vietnamese and American victems of the chemical product Agent Orange, and reveals practices linked to lobbying. By using photographs, advertisements, news publications, and many other sourcers, Asselin creates a nuanced and clear image of the brands history, hopefully drawing a picture of what we might expect from the company in the future.
In the year 2017, Monsanto® got acquired by the German chemical company Bayer. However, this transactions has not yet been approved by the European Commission. Environment organisations, sciencetists, and human rights organisations warn for the far stretching consequences of the controversial fusion for agriculture around the world, because "the one controlling the food, controls the people" (Henry Kissinger).
The Monsanto®: A Photographic Investigation publication (Actes Sud/Kehrer Verlag) got awarded with the Aperture First PhotoBook Award and got nominated for the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2018.
This exhibition is in collaboration with Les Rencontres d’Arles.
Curated by Rein Deslé & Sergio Valenzuela Escobedo.
