Preface: Brad Pitt
Text: Mikaël Faujour
Artistic Direction: Simon Dara
This project has received support from Château Miraval, Galerie Capazza, The Herb Ritts Foundation, and the Association Aimer Ressentir Transmettre.
Exhibition at Galerie Capazza
July 5 — September 21, 2025
How can we see the passage of time—endless, unbroken, ever flowing?
In his quest to explore our relationship with time and space, photographer Robert Charles Mann has returned to a minimalist approach to image capture. His solargraphs are created using pinhole cameras he builds himself, allowing him to expose the sun continuously for six months—from one solstice to the next. Each day, the sun leaves a trace on the photographic paper placed inside the cameras.
Over the course of several years, he has installed his pinhole cameras throughout the estate of Château Miraval. This curated volume presents, for the first time, fifty exceptional images that bear witness to the silent, continuous movement of time and light.
“[…] Every solstice, Robert comes to Miraval to pick up his pinhole cameras and install new ones. The solargraphs he produces continue to amaze me year after year. Each time, I am stunned to see in one image a place so rich in history and the luminous trace of our journey around the sun. Today I am delighted that Miraval inspires such a beautiful book. This book represents for me a unique tribute to this estate, the cosmos and our friendship.”
— Brad Pitt, extract from the preface
Since its invention, photography has wrestled with the challenge of capturing an image on a light-sensitive surface. In the 19th century, under the illusion of freezing a fragment of time for eternity, we had yet to understand that time is, in fact, space.
The solargraphs of Robert Charles Mann offer a compelling meditation on our perception of both time and space—on the ever-present now, the rhythm of the seasons, and what Lucretius called “the secret heart of nature.” They stand as a tribute to the constant transformation of matter and to wonder as the driving force behind creation.
In contrast to the image-saturated world shaped by new technologies, the photographer has chosen slowness and scarcity. This pared-down approach, paired with the patient printing process that can take several months per image, gives rise to photographs that are mysterious and filled with quiet poetry.
“One of my intentions is to create a metaphysical environment that is not necessarily recognizable yet still originates from an organic source. The viewer may experience a moment of confusion before identifying recognizable elements that, I hope, stimulate the imagination and lead to a memory or personal experience.”
— Robert Charles Mann, extract from the text by Mikaël Faujour
The Photographer
Born in the United States and now based in the Loire Valley, Robert Charles Mann has been passionate about photography since childhood. A master printer before becoming a photographer in his own right, he quickly gained recognition for the exceptional quality of his work, collaborating with leading fashion and film photographers. During the 1980s and 1990s, he produced over a million prints. In 1989, with an international reputation firmly established, Robert settled in France.
Today, he primarily works with pinhole cameras—a simple optical device that creates a photographic image through a tiny aperture in an ultra-thin plate—as well as traditional printing techniques involving precious metals and modern archival pigments. Using cotton papers and metal supports, he produces images that reflect his singular artistic vision.
Miraval
To reflect on the passage of time is also to consider the historicity of a place—and the traces that allow its story to be told. Miraval, whose recorded history begins in the year 1002, stands as a striking example of how a place — conceived as space, territory, and landscape—can be embedded within a long temporal perspective.
Format: 27 x 27 cm
112 pages
50 photos
Canvas cover, cardboard, screen-printed, square spine
ISBN: 978-2-490952-64-9
Bilingual book (French & English)
