State, Violent and Beautiful: In Conversation with Melvin Malheurty
By Jade Byrne
Melvin and I first connected on Instagram, over a shared love of music, specifically the glorious stuff coming out of London - Bar Italia, Babyfather, Tirzah - and all the rest.
After a few messages back and forth, I spent a while nosing through his profile and fell in love with his work. It was a glimpse into other worlds. I saw Paris and its creative scene, and young communities. I saw his friends. I saw journeys around Lebanon and its extreme poverty, contrasted with the spirit of perseverance in the kids he photographed. I saw light. I saw dark. And I got this feeling while immersed in his images - it was as if they all had a layer of softness washed over them. Making my way through his archive, I saw an unfiltered and intimate world, each image with its own quiet tenderness.
J: Hi Melvin, happy to have you on GRASS. Please introduce us to you and your practice.
M: Hi, I’m Melvin Malheurty. I was born and raised in Paris. From an early age, I have felt deeply moved by nostalgia and memories, I couldn’t stand the idea that a moment I cherished could come to an end. Growing up, I began imagining endless scenes in my head - music videos, trailers, fragments of films - visions that played constantly, particularly during my stays in Lebanon, where most of my family still live. There was always a spark of freedom and imagination whenever I left Paris for Lebanon. It’s where I began documenting life.
J: Did you grow up in a creative household?
M: My family isn't creative. My dad used to take loads of photos of me as a kid so that inspired me, but I wasn’t really introduced to the creative world. It was only after high school, when I met someone who opened my eyes to the idea that memories could last forever through images. That discovery changed everything for me. Photography and film allow me to live fully in the present while preserving it, to turn fleeting emotions into something permanent. My practice is built on honesty. I don’t use special effects, I rely on natural light and the intensity of real moments. I love to show the world in its raw state, violent and beautiful at once.
J: Where do you find inspiration?
M: Inspiration comes from life itself, from the people I meet, from the music I listen to. Music, especially, shapes my process: it helps me focus and often leads me toward new projects. That’s why collaborating with musicians and capturing their performances feels so essential to me.
Travel has also been central to my work. In Egypt, I created a documentary in three parts, weaving together landscapes and sound. In Ireland, I captured the raw energy of music on film and VHS. Each project feels like a fragment of time that can never be recreated, it belongs to a specific moment in my life. In Lebanon, I explored both the beauty and the cruelty of reality. Villages full of resilience, the faces of a younger generation fighting for uncertain futures.
All my work comes from the same desire, to preserve memory while staying rooted in the present. I see myself as an archivist of life, collecting both the extraordinary and the ordinary, because in the end, both are equally precious.
J: How would your friends describe you?
M: Friends often call me a “sun chaser”, because my work depends on the light the sky gives me. They also like that I’m unafraid to capture what others might miss or hesitate to frame, moments that appear simple, but reveal deep meaning when seen again with time.
Melvin Malheurty is a photographer and videographer born and raised in Paris, where he is based. He is currently working on a book of images showing spontaneous and simple moments of life, all taken with an iPhone 4, as well as new music videos and sports documentaries.
Jade Byrne is a writer and florist from Liverpool, based in London. She is currently working on a poetry collection, finalising her book proposal and delving into the world of music.
