THANK YOU BYE: CLEMENTINE BALCAEN Format: Paperback

"THANK YOU BYE was born out of a need to put down somewhere what I have experienced over the last five years. Although it gives the impression of a veil being lifted, it is simply a record of my personal experience. The intention, through these hundreds of photos, is to transcribe the absurd, crazy and little-known world of modelling, by means of an unpublished souvenir album of my time spent in fashion. The result is THANK YOU BYE, which owes its name to the phrase uttered by casting directors every time you walk in front of them. It recounts my moments of sadness, my anxieties, my unease, my questions, but also our laughter, our travels, our togetherness, our mutual support. Five years during which I fought not to lose myself. Thrown at the age of 18 at a speed I found hard to manage into a dimension that was not my own, I embrace all the models who ‘pose’ in this book and who, without realising it, helped me to escape. What you hold in your hands is none other than the last chance to prove that I was still worth something. When you turn the last page, you’ll know that I’ve resigned and can finally say that I’m happy." - Clémentine Balcaen

Clémentine Balcaen (°1999) is a fashion model who graced catwalks and fashion magazine covers for five years from the age of eighteen. During this hectic life she documented her travels, friends and crazy moments, using a point-and-shoot film camera. These images, that came in the hundreds, have been narrowed down and put into a pocket-size photobook showing 373 photographs in a 416 pages book.