In the early 20th century, Eugene Ajie began to film the old Paris street scene that disappeared due to the urban transformation of the 19th century. Ajie has rich experience and worked as a businessman, sailor, and actor. Finally, he decided to become a photographic artist. The old Paris photos he took brought him a reputation, and many museums in France and surrealist artists like Mann Ray have purchased his works.
Ajie calls these photos literature, which means leaving them for others to interpret and use them. Regardless of the purpose of its documentary records, these photos of Ajie seem to be intentionally placed in some narrative. For example, in his series of photos depicting traditional Parisian restaurants, ghostly figures are often seen behind glass doors.
Eugene Ajie's photography work "The Hall of No. 63 Tourne Street"
In his photo "The Hall of No. 63 Tourne Street" (1908), we can see two people standing behind the glass door of the restaurant, and we can also see the shadow of the Seine River embankment from the door glass, as well as Ajie's photography installation.
On the photo plane, the new and the old are completely integrated together. No wonder these photos made Benjamin so fascinated. He appreciated:
The photos of the old Paris street taken by Ajie around 1900 have unparalleled significance. Some people say that he took these streets like crime scenes, which is a perfect statement. The crime scene is also desolate and empty, and it is photographed to establish evidence.
For Ajie, the photos have become authoritative evidence of historical events and gained hidden political significance. They need to be understood in a special way, and meditation is not suitable for them.
Ajie's works mark the imminent arrival of the photography era, and photography has decisively distinguished itself from traditional visual media. Photography now requires some special attention to its subject content, which can be summarized as a description of the passing time as evidence. In this regard, it inevitably urgently introduces death into the visual realm.
(Nicolas Mirzov's Introduction to Visual Culture)
