Parallax: Stan Douglas, the artist at the heart of a retrospective exhibition at the Jeu de Paume, our photos

Photography as a way to tell stories and shape reality... Explore Stan Douglas’s work in the Parallax exhibition, a must-see at the Jeu de Paume from October 20, 2026, to January 10, 2027.

Photographer, filmmaker, video artist: Stan Douglas is acontemporary artist who explores the art of imagery in all its forms. From photography to cinema, he experiments with the creative processes and how our perception of reality can be altered by the images being broadcast.

The Jeu de Paume is presenting a splendid retrospective of this Canadian artist, running from October 20, 2026 to January 10, 2027. The exhibition Parallax brings together around forty films, photographic series, and video installations. It offers a survey of the artist's entire body of work, from the 1980s to today.

A politically engaged artist, Stan Douglas tackles a wide range of social issues and current affairs. Through his lens, he turns a specific event into something with universal resonance.

Stan Douglas is a photographer who questions the role of the viewer. Through his photographs, he challenges a linear, tidy view of history, showing that stories are always constructed, halted, and redefined. The images that accompany this process of building history are not neutral, and no narrative can ever be truly complete. In short, the act of making images helps shape collective memory and history.

The exhibition at Jeu de Paume puts Stan Douglas’s works in dialogue with the historical moments that inspired the artist. The route also traces the evolving relationship between event and image as time goes by. Interpretations of the same photograph can shift across eras. The artist also aims to give a voice to those who are excluded or erased from the grand narratives, challenging the History told by the victors.

Stan Douglas has also made his mark in cinema and music: these mediums feed the narratives the artist builds, lending them greater depth, forging unexpected connections, exploring different tonalities, or bringing together people and events that are far apart.

With his stories in a constant state of flux, Stan Douglas doesn’t impose an ending on his audience: he aims to keep all possible futures—those that may or ought to unfold—within reach. Reality no longer feels definitive; it can disappear, reappear, be clarified or reinvented...

The exhibition itinerary hides a few surprises: it moves from photographs to live music sessions, with short films in between... We encounter an artist who is both remarkable and fascinating. Through these works, a different form of storytelling emerges, an original way of narrating stories. The photographs astonish, the play of light draws the eye, and you can lose yourself in images that conceal a thousand details. It’s a shame the show is so short: we would have loved to see even more of this artist’s works in Paris!

Take your time to observe, lose yourself in the imagery or the music, and enjoy this artistic journey through Stan Douglas's work.

Don't miss the Jeu de Paume exhibition, which shines a spotlight on this important and captivating contemporary artist from autumn 2026.

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