PICKPOCKET 2023

After being the victim of a pickpocket, I secretly photographed a series of pickpockets in action after recognising them by accidentally crossing their path a few days later. The photographs were done with a smart phone and then cropped for image composition and aesthetic purposes. The team of pickpockets evolved on a daily basis. The « rollover » of their team permitted me to pursue this study during multiple years.

This photographic series became some sort of sociological analysis of one of the oldest "professions" in humanity.

Pickpocket 2023 suggests various references to Robert Bresson’s film Pickpocket (1959).

 

- Gabriel Jones 

​

​

« There’s something magical in this kind of theft. 

 

Have you ever felt the uneasy atmosphere when a thief is present? It’s inexplicable. 

 

I would like to make a film of hands, glances, objects (…)

 

I will improvise a lot, shoot in crowds, face unpredictable obstacles. . . .”

 

Excerpt From: ROBERT BRESSON “Bresson on Bresson.

Interviews 1943–1983. Edited by Mylène Bresson.