ABOUT AXELLE EMDEN / BIO
Born and raised in Paris, Axelle Emden is a writer, photographer and multimedia artist, as well as a jewel-designer. After a dozen of years spent between Research and Journalism, she decides to dedicate her time to fiction writing and photography in 2012.
Axelle studied Philosophy and Political Science in Paris (EHESS, Sciences-Po), made a little stop in the U.S. (Boston College, 2003) and worked as a Teacher Assistant for Alain Touraine in Sociology (CADIS-CNRS). Her main themes of research were media and democracy, liberalism and the French and American « models ». In Sociology, she worked on women.
Early doer, she starts as a journalist at 19 at the Figaro and will write for the French New Economist and a variety of magazines (Culture, Inquiries, Lifestyle). She creates her own webmag dedicated to cultural events in 2008, that she’ll run for three years while living between Paris and Marseille. The experience leads her to become an occasional curator (Private Art Room, Village Royal) and to be part of the jury of the first Eurazeo Photo Price, as well as to give a few classes to future journalists (IPJ, Paris).
As a writer, Axelle also worked for companies, galleries and institutions. She signed a few lyrics for Elodie Ruillier (album Affranchie, 2007) and the introduction of three photo books dedicated to Maria Callas, Steve McQueen and Audrey Hepburn (YB Editions, collection « Les Images d’une vie »).
As a photographer, Axelle starts around 2007 after she got her first Reflex and… while traveling (China, Morocco, Egypt, Europe). Showing her work only since 2012, she got several exhibitions since 2014 in Paris, where she’s now represented by Galerie Didier Forges. Thanks to a contest she shows a few photos in Miami in 2015 (Scope, See me) and the following year, creates an installation on demand for Kabinet 74 in Barcelona : Rhythm is love, like all her previous exhibits, is thought as a dialogue between several personal series. It’s now on air at Felix Lozal’s gallery-store in Barcelona, since October 2017.
Starting professional photography pretty late, Axelle does mainly portraits and reports.
Music-live reports since 2008 for a few webmagazines; still photos in movies (mainly for short films directed by Jethro Massey) and nightlife reports. She does portraits for a variety of clients and artists, in particular actors and musicians : Axelle especially collaborates with a few singer-songwriters as a photographer and art director since 2014. There’s nothing she likes more than trying to talk about an acoustic universe through an image, and she’s always delighted to create CD artworks.
Her corporate work is mainly dedicated to music, lifestyle, food and places.
Hard to classify, Axelle’s personal works include several series on the body, documentary photography and a variety of « daily travel books ». Axelle also shows a special interest in women issues, the LGBT rights as well as the way globalization has changed the world.
Writer and photographer, Axelle is also a jewel designer.
She starts making necklaces, bracelets and earings for herself when she’s at university. Even if a few friends buy her some, she is only doing them for herself, and soon for the pleasure of doing it. After a few lives, she decides to create jewels again in 2017, after she discovered this beautiful island called Menorca. Very quicky, this new idea is a little success. Axelle founds a store in Maón (Menorca), organizes a showroom in Paris and « Isleña Jewellery » is born : a spanish sound to name women from the islands and a classic english standard will sum-up this new adventure handmade in France. A concept ? More a way of doing things, with love and care and for every woman : each Isleña Jewel is a unique piece, made with semi-precious stones and without nickel or any allergen material.
Axelle is now finishing her first novel, and still travels in order to find galleries to represent her photography and art works, as well as stores to welcome Isleña Jewellery.
