Le seul rêve (The only dream)

Le Seul Rêve is a photo-documentary project set in Georgia, aiming to highlight the ambitions of children aspiring to become professional wrestlers. With a poetic and admiring gaze, Vincent Duluc-David captures the delicate balance between gentleness and violence. Born of several trips made between 2023 and 2024 to this country, which has a long history with wrestling, this project explores social determinism and the notion of ‘making a man’. Georgia is deeply passionate about this sport, and children are initiated into it at a very early age. Wrestling is a way of building strong character, a school of life that consolidates a model of a robust man. Each child learns to fit in with social expectations, shaping his identity in the shadow of an omnipresent masculine figure. Crystallized in post-Soviet environments that have suffered the ravages of time, the images explore historical, cultural and religious resonances, creating a palpable link between the past and the future in a country searching for independence, still marked by political tensions. In these degraded environments, every crack, every peeling wall, becomes a silent witness to the efforts and dreams that are forged there. These young wrestlers, innocent like children yet serious like adults, show enthusiasm and timidity in their eyes. Their sculpted bodies already bear the marks of intense sport: cauliflower ears, scratches, and scars. Through this visual quest, Vincent Duluc-David aims to reflect on how these children shape their future through the prism of a sport that defines not only their physical appearance but also their identity and their role in society. Le Seul Rêve aims to present a non-exhaustive aesthetic vision of the cultural similarities and differences between these young wrestlers while highlighting their sociological perspectives.