Pierre-Yves Cruaud is a French visual artist with a background in film studies, which he pursued from 1993 to 1996. His artistic practice centers around the still image as a space for imaginary and sensory exploration. Rather than capturing the world as it appears, Cruaud seeks to represent it as he imagines it, using photography to evoke inner experiences and emotional landscapes.

His images are marked by a minimalist theatricality that challenges realism. Carefully staged yet enigmatic, they invite viewers to identify with the scene while simultaneously unsettling expectations. Cruaud’s work often revolves around the concept of metamorphosis, a recurring metaphor for transformation, uncertainty, and psychological depth. His photographs suggest moments suspended between states, where the familiar becomes strange and the static becomes dynamic.

In his recent series In the Folds of the Night, Cruaud explores the idea of a world trapped in darkness, a metaphorical prison inhabited by fragmented bodies, felled trees, and broken moulds. These inhabitants, though motionless, seem to be waiting, anxiously or silently, for transformation. The series reflects his ongoing interest in the defense mechanisms of the psyche and the existential stillness before change.

Eight images from In the Folds of the Night were selected for the BBA Photography Prize and were previously featured in a solo exhibition curated by HeeJung Kim at the DongGang Museum of Photography in South Korea in 2024.

EXHIBITIONS

• BBA Gallery (Solo Exhibition) Berlin, Germany : 04/07 - 01/08 2026)
• Competa Photo Days (Solo Exhibition) Spain : 13/06 - 15/09 2026)
• Sala Golfes – Centre Cívic Pati Llimona, Barcelona (Finalists’ Group Show IPFA Award : 19/03 –
End of April / 2026)
• Hoxton Arches, London (Group Exhibition : 06/2025)
• Kühlhaus Berlin (Group Exhibition – 22/05-01/06 2025) / Shortlisted for BBA Photography Prize
2025
• Valid World Hall Gallery, Barcelona (Group Exhibition : 05/2025)
• Serafio Complex, Athens (Group Exhibition : February 2025)
• 22nd DongGang International Photo Festival The International Open Call Artist of the year,

South Korea (Solo Exhibition at DongGang Museum of Photography : 12/07-20/10/2024) / Cu-
rator : HeeJung Kim

• Center of the Mediterranean Architecture, Chania (Group Exhibition : 22-26/07/2024)
• Sage Gallery, Bangkok (Group Exhibition : 04/11-02/12/2023)
• Bargehouse Gallery, London (Group Exhibition : 09-12/11/2023)
• PH21 Gallery, Budapest (Honorable Mention - Group Exhibition : 19/10-11/11/2023)
• The Glasgow Gallery of Photography (Group Exhibition : 03-30/08/2023)
• Black & White Athens Photography Festival (Group Exhibition : 04-07/02/2023)

AWARDS

• Epex Photo Awards (Photographer of the Year - Free Subject / 2026)
• BBA Photography Prize (1st Prize / 2025)
• MonoVisions Photography Awards (1st Place - Black & White Fine Art Series of the Year 2025)
• International Photography Festivals Association Award (Finalist / 2025)
• Tokyo International Foto Awards (Silver, Fine Art - Other Category / 2025)
• Monochrome Photography Awards (Honorable Mention – Conceptual / 2025)
• Annual Photography Awards (Honorable Mention, Fine Art : Conceptual / 2025)
• Neutral Density Photography Awards (Honorable Mention - Fine Art - Conceptual Category /
2025)
• Exposureoneawards ("In the folds of the night" Series - Honorable Mention, Conceptual /
2025)

• International Photography Awards ("In the folds of the night" Series - Honorable Mention, Fine
Art Other / 2025)
• EPA (European Photography Awards Gold Winner within the Black & White Photography -
Fine Art Series Category / 2025)
• Imacres Awards (Honorable Mention in Fine Art photography / 2025)
• Px3 ("In the folds of the night" Series - Honorable Mention, Fine Art Other/ 2025)
• 22nd Pollux Awards (Honorable Mention – Fine Art / 2025)
• 11th Fapa (Nomination - Fine Art Series / 2025)
• GS International Photography Awards (Winner - Fine Art - Series Categorie / 2024)
• Annual Photography Awards ("In the folds of the night" Series - Honorable Mention, Fine Art :
Conceptual / 2024)
• Monochrome Photography Awards (Honorable Mention – Fine Art / 2024)
• ND Awards (Honorable Mention - Fine Art - Conceptual Category / 2024)
• Lens Culture Emerging Talent Photography Awards (Editors’ Pick / 2024)
• Prix de la Photographie, Paris PX3 (Honorable Mention - Fine Art / 2024)
• Monochromatic Awards (Finalist / 2024)
• MonoVisions Awards (Honorable Mention - Conceptual Series Categorie / 2024)
• Dohdo Magazine Portrait Awards (Finalist / 2024)
• Kolga Award ("In the folds of the night" - Conceptual Series Shortlisted / 2024)
• Blue Koi Gallery Fine Art Photography Competition (2nd place / 2024)
• 10th Fine Art Photography Awards (Nomination - Conceptual Series / 2024)
• Monochrome Photography Awards (Honorable Mention – Conceptual / 2023)
• EPEX Awards (Honorable Mention / 2023)
• ND Awards (Honorable Mention - Fine Art - Serie Nudes / 2023)
• Prix de la Photographie, Paris PX3 (Bronze - Fine Art / 2023)
• MonoVisions Awards (3rd Place - Series Nudes / 2023)
• 9th Fine Art Photography Awards (Nomination - Nudes Category / 2023)