RUNNER UP 2026
RESEARCH PRESENTATION
13 NOV 2026 - 5 JAN 2027
ANTANANARIVO
Finiavana Raharisandratana is a photographer. He lives in the far south of Madagascar, a region most often associated with drought, hardship and vulnerability, when in fact it is rich in landscapes, diversity and cultural practices. Against these reductive images, he seeks another vision, more complex and balanced. His photographs focus on what binds his subjects to their environment, their history and their way of inhabiting a place, bringing out what usually goes unnoticed. Here the aesthetic serves feeling and respect for the people he photographs.
For the project that made him Runner up for the Prix Paritana (2026), he explores the cyanotype technique. He works on his prints by laying dried seaweed on them, the shapes of which are imprinted directly into the image. The seaweed engages with the photograph taken on a mobile phone, layering the real and the symbolic: it speaks of fragility, growth, the cycle of life and the attention paid to invisible presences. The print is no longer a document, but an invitation to a more contemplative gaze.
Artist's biography
Finiavana Raharisandratana was born in 1996 in Tsiroanomandidy, Madagascar. He lives and works in Ambovombe, Madagascar. He took the Art History and Exhibition Production modules of Ainga, an artistic professional development programme run by Fondation H, Antananarivo (Madagascar, 2023).
He was Runner-up for the Prix Paritana (2026) and won first prize in the photography competition Clic-Mada: Ma région en un clic, organised by the Delegation of the European Union to Madagascar (2023).
His work has featured in the group exhibitions Art en brousse at Alliance Française de Mahajanga, Mahajanga (Madagascar, 2024); and La beauté de nos régions at Antananarivo City Hall, Antananarivo (2023).