New York based French photographer, Christophe Agou will be showing his photographic work Facing Silence at a projection in Méjan during the 42nd edition of the Rencontres d’Arles.
The Facing Silence project is the result of 8 years of talking and sharing moments with the men and women who work in the calm and desert-like countryside, far from the world where people are more and more connected consumers.
You left France for New York in 1992. Why did you decide 10 years later to work on this project in your native country?
My feelings about living far from the land where I was raised inspired me to rediscover my roots, my memories, life in the country. In the Spring of 2002, I decided to spend some time in the region where I was born, le Forez. I didn’t have any particular plan in mind. I visited some of the most reclusive mountain villages where I met extraordinary people whose daily lives moved me. The images and the silence became a language for me. The visible traces of their past and their melancholy were inspirational.
You rediscovered your roots, and your memories, but you also hoped, with this project, to expose the difficulties of this disappearing profession…
Over the years of visits, I developed friendships. Every moment brought me closer to their daily lives. I didn’t want to expose anything, just make their feelings understandable. Photography for me is a questioning, an exchange, a language. It reveals deep-rooted emotions, the unconsciousness, even symbols. To me, everything is disappearing, which could explain why I take pictures.
How do you see this project 10 years later ?
I came right at the end of an era. The time I spent with them in their universe was an extraordinary human experience for me. I met nice, generous, exceptional people. Like aging, solitude is a reality that touches us all, both in a city and in the Monts du Forez.
The project Facing Silence published by Actes Sud won the 17th Prize for Best European Photography Book. The prize will be presented on July 6 at the Théâtre Antique. The author will be signing books at the Actes Sud bookstore on July 8 at 3pm.
Ericka Weidmann
Rencontres d’Arles 2011
July 4th – September 18th
Facing Silence – Christophe Agou
Magasin électrique
