From Iraq to Kazakhstan, the Belgian photographer Colin Delfosse, founder of the Out of Focus collective, has photographed people and told their stories. He has spent the past eight years working on a project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will be exhibited in Strasbourg from now through February. In addition, his Prix Photographie Ouverte-winning report “Les Amazones du PKK,” shot in Iraqi Kurdistan, is on display at the Musée de la Photographie in Charleroi. And finally, on January 29th, Delfosse will present his work during an EXTRAFORT event at Recyclart in Brussels.
Your degree is in journalism. How did you start taking pictures? And why?
While studying journalism at the IHECS (Institut des Hautes Etudes de Communication Sociale), where I finished almost ten years ago, I had the opportunity to try my hand at different media, including photography, which turned out to be the one most suited to my desire to be independent and do the kind of reporting I am striving for.
Your photographs are realistic, sober, journalistic. How would you describe your work?
My approach has evolved over the years, including the equipment I use. I started out with a black-and-white film camera, then switched to digital color, then medium format and, finally, a view camera. I don’t have a “body of work” that can be presented as a unit. It would be difficult to discuss and defend my early work. My different reportages are the different strata of my work. Obviously there are common elements in the different subjects, related to the weight of the past, the Soviet and colonial legacy, head-on portraits. But this is rather weak for common denominators. I wanted to explore the different ways of working, which can be risky.
You founded the collective Out of Focus. What are the dynamics behind it?
Out of Focus was founded with other journalism students at the end of our studies. The idea was to support each other as we faced the photography “market,” if we can still speak in those terms. We wanted to work together, to share ideas. Today we’re very active and work independently while still sharing our views.
You’ve worked on a lot of reports with your girlfriend, Julie David de Lossy. Do you prefer working in groups?
I like the idea of comparing what I see with what someone else sees. Photography is an extremely individualistic profession. When you can share that with someone, especially when it’s your girlfriend, it takes you out of the schizophrenic relationship between you, your camera and your computer screen.
Why Africa—Kenya, Rwanda, DRC? How did you get to Goma? What do you think of the situation there? Why are so many great photojournalists there right now?
Why not? There’s not real answer. I made several trips to the DRC before coming to appreciate the country. I’ve returned many times since because the country is full of energy and potential subjects. I lived for a little while in Kenya and Rwanda, where I shot a few stories, but I’m not claiming to have “photographed Africa” either. I arrived in Goma the first time by car. From Kigali, it takes three hours. I was covering the Tour de Rwanda (like the Tour de France, but in Rwanda) when things started heating up on the other side of the border. The conflict in eastern DRC is difficult to sum up. For its part, Goma is unstable, bustling, changing, seething, like the Nyiragongo volcano.
Asia, Africa, Kazakhstan, Russia—for you the story is outside Belgium.
It’s easier to photograph somewhere else than in your own country and your own life. First of all, not everyone leads a daily life like Antoine D’Agata. Plus, traveling opens your eyes to other things.
Is your role to bear witness? Document? Tell stories? Do you try to remain neutral?
Yes, I try to bear witness, sometimes by telling stories. The question of neutrality is irrelevant, since photography is always subjective.
The captions and texts you write to accompany your photographs, are they a kind of observation, a conclusion, an appeal?
It depends on the photograph and the subject. The text is neither an appeal nor a conclusion. It makes sense for what you see.
You’ve won a few prizes. Your photos have been published, your work exhibited. Does it take a lot of work to make a name for yourself?
Yes, it’s a full-time job that doesn’t pay very well.
But very few books. Is that on purpose?
It seemed pointless at first, and precocious given what I had done. Now I’m working on my first book about, logically, Congolese wrestling. It should come out in June.
You’ve been working in the DRC for a few years now. Is this a commission or a personal investment?
Like for many photographers, I think projects are foremost a personal initiative. Before I leave, or when I’m already out in the field, I always look for a commission to finance the trip. It’s risky, of course, but the current situation doesn’t leave many other options.
Regarding your work on women in the PKK, currently on display at the Musée de la Photographie in Charleroi, how did you manage to blend in with them?
The work is from 2009. A Kurdish friend asked me to accompany her into a region I was unfamiliar with. We spent a month in the mountains with the PKK fighters.
Are there any photographers who have had a major influence on you?
No one in particular, but there are many photographers whose work I enjoy. I’m bad with names, but Stephen Shore, Leslie Krims, Alec Soth, James Nachtwey are on par with the classics. Then there’s more modern names like Jonas Bendiksen and Pieter Hugo. A few Belgians, De Keyzer and Max Pinckers. And in the younger camp, Rob Hornstra.
What’s next?
My priority for 2015 is to finish my book on wrestling. Then I want to return to the Congo for my work on the legacy of Mobutu. Then head back to Central Asia.
EXHIBITIONS
Les amazones du PKK
Colin Delfosse
Through 17th May 2015
Musée de la Photographie de Charleroi
Avenue Paul Pastur 11
6032 Charleroi
www.museephoto.be
Dancing ashes
Colin Delfosse
Through February 1st 2015
Galerie La Chambre
4 Place Austerlitz
67000 Strasbourg
www.la-chambre.org
Projection EXTRAFORT
RECYCLART
Gare Bruxelles-Chapelle
25, Rue des Ursulines
1000 Bruxelles
Thursday 29th January 2015
www.recyclart.be
