I photograph people I find elegant.
Their elegance has nothing to do with fashion. Combining industrial clothing with traditional tribal elements (jewelry, scarification), these people exude simple grace. What I feel in these encounters is an awareness of being. They live differently than we do in Western societies, subject to the dictatorship of physical beauty. Here, beauty is an extension of the being, not its purpose.
It is this spontaneity that I look for in beauty. The people I meet in traditional societies in South Sudan, on the margins of capitalist society, show what happens when different social systems come together: the cultural mix is visible on their bodies. This is the creative process that interests me as a photographer.
>strong>Françoise Spiekermeier
Françoise Spiekermeier (b. 1964) was born in Toulouse. She studied anthropology at the Sorbonne before becoming a photojournalist. Beauty has always occupied an important place in her work, even when on assignment in conflict zones like Chechnya. In 2009, she undertook a long-term documentary project on style and beauty in Africa.
