©2024 M.EL
TONY HAGE
Tony Hage was born in Lebanon and moved to Paris at the age of 17. He began studying film directing and taking photography courses. Early in his career, he started publishing his photos independently in the press of the Middle East and later through French agencies for international media. His diverse and fully embraced work included reports and images from nearly all facets of society that he had access to, ranging from politics and culture to fashion and the social life of the Lebanese and Arab community in France. For Tony, documentary photography represents the essence of the medium, fulfilling his passion for documenting his time: showing, recording, and continuously satisfying his curiosity for discovery and personal growth. Today, with nearly 45 years in the field, his photography simply narrates his life.
Upon completing his film studies, Tony opted for a documentary project for his final thesis: “À Man Ray,” which included an interview with Man Ray’s widow, Juliet, in their apartment near the Luxembourg Gardens. In 2017, La Maison de la Photographie, under the direction of Jean-Luc Monterosso, showcased his first public exhibition, “Pris sur le Vif,” featuring 25 black-and-white prints of various personalities encountered in the 1980s, selected by exhibition curator Cristianne Rodrigues.
Submitting his photographs later to expert eyes—artists, historians, and curators—allowed Tony to deepen his understanding of his own work. His photography, based on speed and anticipation without complicity with the subject, led him to decide to reveal much of his previously unknown archives.
Photography, for Tony Hage, is an exchange between the photographer's lens and the captured moment, becoming a living document projected to the public eye. The image is an essential form of our lives, printed notes of our personal stories.
In 2013, Tony had the opportunity to collaborate on the creation of the Photomed-Lebanon photography festival (2014-2017). Concurrently, he worked extensively on the renewal of the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism's photo library (2003-2017), consulting local image archives dating from the early 20th century, studying the work of Lebanese, Egyptian, and Syrian photographers from the past century, and meeting a new generation of photographers from various Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries. This rich photographic culture, until now relatively unknown to the public, suffers from financial and structural challenges that hinder its support and visibility.
Today, Tony continues to study and organize his archives, plans for a book publication are underway, and he is preparing a new photo exhibition while continuing to fulfill reportage assignments.
www.tonyhage.net
@tony_hage_