L’atelier de Parimage from L’Oeil de la photographie on Vimeo.
This is the story of a group of seven handicapped children from the suburbs of Grenoble, suffering from various disabilities (autism, trisomy, psychological and emotional problems, etc.), who spend one day a week in a therapy farm located in the mountains. They come to assist the farmer by helping take care of the farm animals.
From March through June 2007, these children participated in a photo workshop. Each of them received two disposable cameras each week to photograph, in the company of their teachers and the farming couple, what they wanted to photograph at the farm. At the end of each roll, they received their envelope of prints, opened them, and talked about them in front of the group. Then, during individual and collective sessions, they were asked to select five to eight photos per roll while explaining their choices. All these photos have been gathered together to make a video film called “Histoires de P’tits Fermiers” .
The children love going to the farm. They are in a natural world, in contact with animals, and responsible for certain chores. Their relationship with the adults is open, light in a certain way. With this small group, they are able to receive individual attention, and farmer Frisou’s crêpes help create an unconditional bond. Photography allows the children, who have difficulty expressing themselves, to show what they are going through and what they are feeling.
The film “Histoires de P’tits Fermiers” was shown in a movie theater in Grenoble; so, the children saw their own film in the theater. They also showed the film to other children and professionals from the medical-educational institute, where they were sent to school. For these children, this process certainly contributed to nourishing their self-esteem. They are proud of what they made and showed. In a more general sense, handicapped children can develop their capacity of artistic expression by learning to take pictures.
Finally, this work makes it possible to approach the little-known reality of the agricultural and rural world, that is farming with a social and therapeutic purpose, which has grown significantly in Europe. A network of European researchers involved in a project called So Far (Social Farming), financed by the European Commission, lead an effort on social and therapeutic integration farms in various European countries. This visual work was financed by the So Far project. It made it possible to take into account what the beneficiaries of farming with a social and therapeutic purpose have to say and make it possible to publish the results of the study vividly.
Gerald Assouline
Gerald Assouline is a photographer, director, and sociologist who lives and works in Grenoble, France.
