La vie devant moi

Jock Sturges, Tristan; La Jenny, France; 2003 (Detail).

“La vie devant moi.” Photographer Jock Sturges opens with this quotation from Tristan, the boy facing us in the image to the right. Having survived a dangerous childhood cancer, Tristan is now “at once joyful to be alive, and has more depth than most children his age.” In English, “La vie devant moi” reads something like “My life is before me” or “Life lay out before me.”

Sturges tells us that Tristan, “knows exactly what was saying in this statement.” His parents behind him, his arms akimbo, Tristan stares out to the viewer with an empowered gaze. There can be no doubt that he does, indeed, know what he is saying.

Tristan and his parents, form a triangle: mother, father, and son. Mother and father stand in the background, out of focus. The focus is on Tristan, his outward gaze adding forward momentum to the photograph.

One might also read the composition as a circle. Tristan’s parents stand roughly level with his head and eyes. Placed confidently on his hips, Tristan’s hands complete the circle. In this way, the image flows from mother to son, from son to father, then back to son again, and so on. This circular motion gives a sense of completeness, of wholeness, to the image.

As we move through the triangle or circle, Tristan again gives the photograph a sense of forward momentum. Admittedly, this momentum comes from an unconventional place—his penis (which has been cropped in the detail above). Pointing downward, Tristan’s penis acts as the tip to the triangle, leads us forward from the circle As unconventional as this imagery may seem, Sturges does not draw our attention to it. Rather, it acts as part of the overall image: indispensible, but only as part of the whole.

If any part of the image stands out, it is Tristan’s gaze. This young man looks boldly out into the world. He confronts it, welcomes it. There is nothing between him and the life ahead.

Please note: As some readers may know, Sturges recently plead guilty to sexual misconduct with a fourteen-year-old girl who modeled for him forty years ago. This post is not meant to condone his actions. Respect and boundaries are essential to nude photography—and any photography—especially where children and young adults are involved.