Olivier Roller

Olivier Roller (born 1972 in Strasbourg) is a French photographer based in Paris. He specializes in photographic portraits, and since 2009 he has been creating photographic frescos. The images are about individuals of power, which he places in settings or poses reminiscent of historic portraits, from antiquity to Napoleon, creating portraits of the "emperors of today." After studying political science and law studies in Strasbourg, Olivier Roller became a photographer. He describes power and influence in France in the beginning of the 21st century through the individuals who represent them (ministers, financiers, advertisers, media leaders…) If the power is immutable, men of power are friable. […] What is photographed is a changing power, pending, maybe disappearing. […] The power is that dream to challenge time, knowing that time will be stronger. […] The men of power knows what he lost — Olivier Roller Olivier's first portrait was of his grandfather in 1994, in a very tight frame and devoid of artifices. While he was still a student he took an interest in photography. To find faces to photograph, he approached many writers and filmmakers who were promoting their work in bookstores and venues. This promptly led to the press giving him assignments. While on assignment, Oliver followed Jeanne Moreau to a film festival in Belgium.