Jacques Yvergniaux sent us his series on homeless people in the streets. He presented it as follows.
Meeting street people
Paris, April 2018. I am walking quietly in a street near Montparnasse station, when I pass in front of a man, a woman and a little girl, all three sitting on a cardboard box and under a blanket, on the ground. The woman is sleeping. I approach and try to start a conversation. This is the first time I have undertaken this approach. It’s difficult because the man doesn’t speak French. I understand that I am dealing with a refugee family from Afghanistan. While trying to chat, I show my camera and offer to take a photo. Immediately, the man wakes his wife and all three strike a pose. They seem happy that someone is a little interested in them and perhaps have more visibility. And then I continue on my way.
This photo asked me a lot of questions. Some have accused me of being voyeuristic and profiting from the misery of others. I simply wanted to show reality and try to give a little dignity to the people photographed.
I regret not having tried to chat longer to know their story a little better. This photograph, taken very quickly, is not part of an objective defined in advance. Subsequently, it allowed me to develop a working approach in order to produce a photographic series. You have to set aside time to meet, discuss and try to get to grips with the story. Make people feel comfortable enough so that they accept, or even ask, to be photographed or filmed. After a period of latency and reflection, this project on street people really started in 2024.
There are the homeless, those who live on the street, and who, following an “accident of life” or after “wanting to escape the horror”, are forced to “ask”, not even just to eat. At each meeting, speech is freed. They do not hesitate to tell their stories. They have a lot to say, and few people listen to them. It does them good, and I discover a world far from what I could have imagined.
To end on a slightly more optimistic note, I was also interested in those who live on the streets. They offer entertainment, they sing, play music, offer shows. They earn their living thanks to the generosity of passers-by, in exchange for a moment of pleasure.
At each meeting, I explain my approach. Produce a report on people on the street, in precarious situations, and thus give a voice to try to restore their dignity. People are always photographed with their informed consent. Subsequently, I try to find them a second time to complete the story of their life journey, and also, offer them the photos taken during our first meeting.
Jacques Yvergniaux
Biography
Born in 1958.
Began photography in the 1980s, as a press correspondent for the daily Ouest-France for the canton of Lamballe.
Practiced black and white film photography for around twenty years, before taking the plunge into digital photography in 2004.
Produced and made exhibitions commissioned by public institutions. (Cities, Departmental Councils, media libraries) and participated in collective exhibitions such as the French artists’ show (Paris, Grand Palais, bronze medal in 2012), the “Pluie d’images” festival in Brest, European Festival of Photography nude in Arles.
Occasionally collaborated with an agency and published photos in the national and international press (Nouvel Observateur, Jeune Afrique, Le Figaro, Le magazine du Monde, JDD, etc.)
Served twice as curator for a group exhibition with 12 photographers.
Develops his activity as an author photographer with the creation of his workshop-gallery “Le Réser’Voir d’image” in Plouër-sur-Rance (22), carried out with the participation of the Ministry of Culture (DRAC of Brittany).
The book “Intimate Africas” has just been published in May 2023, comprising around fifteen photographic chronicles, published by Corridor Elephant.
