One Jump!

At the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, Alex Majoli, a Magnum photographer accustomed to working in the rawest of social climates, concentrated his camera towards the fast moving Cannes crowd. In a homage to previous Magnum photographer Philip Halsman's cult "Jumpology" series of the 1960's, Majoli aimed to reveal the true persona behind the celebrity - "at the time of jumping, their attention is concentrated on the jump, and at this moment, the mask falls." (Halsman). Nearly 120 high profile artists have jumped for Majoli - from politicians to starlets, Al Gore to Monica Bellucci, Samuel L. Jackson and Marianne Faithfull, all willing to abandon the self-preserve usually performed and required of their lives in the spotlight.His dynamic library of leaping stars was exhibited in November 2007 at la Pinacotheque in Paris, under the title "One Jump!" - so named after Al Gore agreed to do it,"...but only ONE JUMP!" In "One Jump", Majoli has created a huge and energetic series, the perfect contrast in the context of Cannes Film Festival, of choreographed yet momentarily free personalities. Born in 1971, Majoli graduated from art school in 1991.
Three years later, he made an intimate portrayal of the closing of an asylum for the insane on the island of Leros, Greece, a project that became the subject of his first book, "Leros". After becoming a full member of Magnum Photos in 2001, Majoli covered the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and two years later the invasion of Iraq. He continues to document various conflicts worldwide for "Newsweek", the "New York Times Magazine", "Granta" and "National Geographic".