Oui avec plaisir

Cyrille Weiner’s collaboration with architect Patrick Bouchain is rooted in a shared sensitivity to human presence, nomadic and ephemeral spaces. Although Weiner resists the label of “architectural photographer,” his long-term collaboration with Bouchain has led to a deep engagement with the built environment—one that privileges atmosphere over form and narratives over structures. Their collaboration began in 2005 when the villa Noailles invited Weiner to photograph a series of Bouchain’s performance spaces, including the Théâtre Zingaro in Aubervilliers, the Grange au Lac in Évian, and the Fratellini circus academy in Saint-Denis. Far from the pristine, empty images typical of architectural photography, Weiner sought to capture the everyday use of these spaces. He immersed himself in their rhythms, documenting how artists, students, and audiences inhabit and transform them. His lens became a portal into the poetic dimension of these places—spaces that Bouchain designs not as monuments but as living environments meant to serve and inspire.

Working with medium and large format, often in winter light, Weiner approached each site with fresh eyes, focusing on ambiance, use, and suggestion rather than overt representation. One shot of the Ferme du Buisson’s nomadic tent-like structure highlights its back entrance eschewing the more formal facade in favor of something more intimate and revealing.

Over time, their relationship evolved beyond documentation. Together, they’ve explored shared interests - from peri-urban wastelands to collaborative installations - and developed a creative dialogue spanning photography, scenography, and publishing.

In Weiner’s images, architecture is often evoked through fragments, textures, and context. His work invites the viewers to complete the picture with their own imagination, mirroring the way Bouchain invites users to complete his buildings through lived experience.

Their most emblematic project? According to Weiner, it is still to come : a comprehensive photography book that might bring Bouchain’s radical, humanist and enchanting architecture to a global audience.