“My son is mestizo. It is for this reason that I realized this series of portraits “. This is how the text of Alexis Duclos begins for his book. Forty-two black and white portraits of men and women, whose visual director is miscegenation. These photographs and these testimonies are the fruit of a work begun several years ago.
My editorial line was to photograph personalities from the worlds of literature, journalism, entertainment, film and television, but also from business, fashion and sport that concretized their career aspirations or realized their dreams ! Models for today and the new generations. Métis, these are faces photographed in medium format with a Pentax 6 × 7 camera equipped with a 135 mm f / 4 lens on Kodak TX black and white film. No digital, but the desire to share with you the material of the film and its millions of grains, a magnificent mixture floating in silver crystals.
Métis, these are some portraits that refer to cultural miscegenation. Like genetic crossbreeding, our culture is mixed. Music, painting, architecture … The diversity of influences actually contributes to the richness of French culture.
Métis, these are all those looks that showcase diversity to better combat racism, the worst scourge. Everyone photographed answered this question:
“Your existence is the result of crossbreeding: how do you live with it? Why ? ”
For some, it is an important, sometimes painful, issue that touches the foundation of identity, of this double “I”. For others, conversely, being Métis does not matter, because it is only an appearance. My son is Métis. Born in France to a French father (me) and a Canadian mother of Chinese descent, my son’s name is Jordan.
The METIS project was a karmic ordeal for me. The miscegenation touches on the identity, it is not always simple, but it is always deep. Finally, I have the feeling that there is a kind of underground and unconscious racism among many at all levels of society. This is an empirical finding.
I want to thank those who trusted me by agreeing to pose for me. Thanks to Fabrice d’Almeida, Bertrand Dicale and David El Kenz who agreed to write on this theme.
“If I differ from you, far from hurting you, I will augment you. ” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
“MÉTIS”, A book by Alexis Duclos
Available for pre-purchase until May 7, 2019
https://www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/metis-un-livre-d-alexis-duclos
