The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and photographer Augustin Le Gall have joined up to produce a photography exhibition under the title Beneath the Jasmine, stories of repression in Tunisia.
This project is a first for Tunisia and shares the testimonies of thirty-four men and women from various backgrounds (politicians, human rights activists, journalists, students and everyday citizens) who suffered torture and repression. Reflecting different periods of Tunisia’s history, from its independence in 1956 to the present day, the subjects share accounts that are deeply personal yet widely representative at the same time.
The series tells the story of institutionalised violence at a time when Tunisia remained a favourite destination for international tourism, with jasmine illuminating postcards of the country.
Beneath the Jasmine has already been shown across Tunisia through a number of cultural structures in the 34 regions, as well as at the parliament building in Bardo and abroad (in Switzerland and Canada). Over 2015–2016, the exhibition continues its journey, this time touring the Tunisian universities.
This exhibition of 36 black-and-white portraits is the result of an encounter with men and women who have lived through painful periods of contemporary Tunisia, that will forever mark the history of its people.
It is also the result of an encounter with the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and its team in Tunisia, which took the initiative to see the project through, combining its mission of raising awareness with the subjective view of a photographer.
It is, finally, the result of an encounter with the civil society, without whom this work would not have been possible.
The exhibition aims at giving its protagonists a chance to speak, to show their faces, they sometimes look towards the camera, sometimes turn away. Now on paper, their stories will remain alive.
With the words of human rights expert Louis Joinet, “a people’s knowledge of the history of its oppression is part of its heritage.”
It is in the name of our duty to remember that this heritage must be preserved; Drawing force from the past in order to master our future. This exhibition is dedicated to all those we lost, and to all those who remain upright.
– Augustin Le Gall
EXHIBITION
Sous le Jasmin – Histoires d’une répression en Tunisie
Augustin Le Gall
From March 30th to April 15th, 2016
• Mairie du 4ème Arrondissement
Galerie du 2e étage
2 place Baudoyer
75004 Paris
• Luminor-Hôtel de Ville – Etage –
20 rue du Temple
75004 Paris
France
http://www.augustinlegall.com
