In Rust I Trust. 2005-2022
Toutain-Dorbec's photographs have a remarkable sense of composition. The cars are often positioned in such a way as to emphasize their isolation and abandonment, surrounded by overgrown vegetation or set against desolate, barren landscapes. The juxtaposition of the once-gleaming autos against their decaying surroundings is a powerful statement about the impermanence of even the most durable of objects. What is most impressive about Toutain-Dorbec's work, however, is the way in which he prompts us to consider the human stories behind these abandoned cars. Who owned them? Where did they come from? What was their significance in their time? These images are a reminder of the complex histories and narratives that lay beneath even the most apparently mundane objects.
