For its fifth month, the Association Inimaginable* has selected a photograph by Catalina Martin Chico, taken from her report on female voices in a revolution. The photograph will be on view in the streets of Paris from November 27 to December 3, 2012.
One picture, One week a month
Catalina Martin Chico : Je suis le prochain Martyr – Les Voix féminines d’une révolution
Revolution has come to Yemen, too. It is unpredictable, determined and peaceful. It spread from the northern highlands to the eastern valleys, from the plains of the Red Sea to the wadis of Hadrhamaut. Across the country, even in its most remote areas, women are at the front of the revolutionary stage. Standing near a podium under the obelisk of wisdom in Change Square, in Sanaa, they shout at the crowds through a microphone. At midday, their processions flowed into the streets of the capital, and in the evening, after enduring beatings and insults, many of these women spent the night in canvas tents. People have gotten used to their presence. But in Yemen, where women often live like shadows, condemned to a life of household chores and childcare. The “Revolution” changed everything. They are farmers, students, political activists and housewives.
With bare faces, with veils on their heads, or sometimes covered entirely in their abayas, these women are demanding that their country be rebuilt. For some, this “New Yemen” should take the form of an Islamic Caliphate, and for others, a civilized state. These provocative visions caused tensions among the women, threatening to ruin their unified front. But they all want it to be known that religion is not incompatible with the values of justice and democracy behind “their” revolution.
François-Xavier Trégan
Catalina Martin Chico
The Franco-Spanish photographer studied at the International Center of Photography in the early 2000s. She first came to Yemen in 2007 as a photojournalist, and regularly returns there to work. She has covered the Arab Spring in several countries, including Tunisia and Egypt, and the American presidential elections. In France, she has covered topics ranging from the full-body veil to family planning. A member of the Cosmos agency since 2008, her work has appeared in Elle, Le Monde Magazine, Le Figaro Magazine, GEO, The Guardian and The New York Times. In 2011, the International Committee of the Red Cross awarded Catalina Martin Chico a prize for her humanitarian work.
Places of exhibit :
• 278 Boulevard Saint-Germain 75007 Paris
• 120 Avenue des Champs Élysées 75008 Paris
• 115 Avenue du Général Leclerc 75014 Paris
• 24 Av. de la Porte d’Asnières 75017 Paris
• Porte de Clignancourt 75018 Paris
*Inimaginable is an association that provides support and financing for photography projects that concern human rights and discrimination. Too many reports today are never published due to lack of funding, and the images are never seen by the public. Inimaginable uses a participatory financing platform (KissKissBankBank) to raise production budgets for such projects. The photograph selected each month will be displayed in a poster campaign in the heart of Paris.
Every month, Le Journal present a preview of the image picked by the selecting committee.
