Vincent Desailly: The Trap

Trap is the language of hip-hop from the southern states, especially from the city of Atlanta. But trap is also slang for the place where drug deals are made. And, last but not least, a trap is also a snare. All of this collides when the documentary photographer Vincent Desailly sets out to capture the world behind the lyrics in Atlanta. His pictures are witnesses to the feeling of life and the atmosphere that comes from this music. Haunting portraits show dealers, musicians, or simply residents of the city. On display are guns, crime scenes, and tableaux of everyday life. The photographs are enchantingly beautiful and narratively elegant. Each one is full of meaning and history. Thus, the visual evidence becomes poetry. The portrayal of everyday life begins to speak in the photos. And this language is none other but rap, to whose driving beats and direct lyrics the pictures again open up.