Une vie en noir et blanc

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These new images were created with inmates from the Maison Centrale of Arles in Provence; and were commissioned by the Préface Léo Lagrange Group, who organized the training for prison inmates that I did for five days in this maximum security prison. It consisted of a workshop “An Introduction to Portrait Photography”, which is one part of  a longer course called  “expert in treatment of digital images”.

I made a proposal to the prisoners, and this was to tell their “stories” of prison to the outside world, inventing visual metaphors where the body played the main role; the body, the only property that is definitely their own. After a long, challenging discussion, which helped some people to overcome their distrust, almost aversion to the project, we created new images and added new titles to them too, by hand (with the body).

The whole process consisted alternatively of tecnical/practical information followed by discussion on intentions and their results. Since it was impossible for us to print in colour we called the series “Une vie en noir et blanc” (A life in black and white). The title, in fact, then spurred  the prisoners on to develop an explanatory text as well.

This work, which, in this context, was a completely new venture, was, in fact, very successful at all levels of the prison world that were involved in it: above all for the prisoners, and also for the Head of the Establishment  Mr.  Jean Philippe Mayol, the board of security administration and Mr. Jean De Laforge, from Preface Léo Lagrange Group. The prison psychologist Charles Balhouanes, the assistant psychiatrist Laurent Segui and the head of the prison staff’s training Mr.Thierry Chauvin also used the photographs as the starting point of a sensitive suicide prevention action that they carried out.

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