Interview with the Artists:
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When I shoot pictures of young men and women who are in personal, intimate struggle with their identities, I want them—even if its just for two or three hours—to feel respected and loved for who they are and who they dream to be. |
Why did you decide to photograph these particular people and how did you meet them?
It all started with Sofiane. I met him a few months before this project started when I shot a portrait of him. I was doing some volunteer work helping young men find jobs in a shopping mall. It’s important to understand that unemployment is very high in Marseilles. For young people it’s around twenty percent, and getting a job is far more difficult when your family name is of Maghreb background (people from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, etc.), even if you are French and born in France, which is the case for Sofiane. So this day, Sofiane arrived with a beautiful black hat and a woollen cape! But when it was his turn to come in front of the camera he took both cape and hat off, trying to hide part of himself to minimize his queer identity. He was here to get a job. But I said to him, "Are you crazy? You look great, keep it and be you!" He smiled and we made a great portrait! This is how we met. I then knew I wanted to tackle these issues using portraits and real testimonies, but I had no idea how to start. I knew that meeting with Sofiane was the key to starting the project so I called him and we met again. He told me how things work here; how he had to keep a low profile to feel secure in the city. It was not even about cross dressing—it was about not even using feminine gestures on the streets of Marseilles, especially when you are a Maghreb Guy in a district with a large majority of Maghreb population, which is the case in the center of the city, close to the harbor. So we started talking about who he had to be versus who he would like to be. Sofiane talked about his family, his difficulties, the refugee shelters he stayed in, and of course about his friends and their cross-dressing moments, dressed-up like princesses and Sheba queens when they go to a small queer nightclub. Surprised by his story I asked, "Are you not afraid of being mugged on the way?" He laughed. "I’m six five, so with heels I’m quite impressive. And most of the time we are 8 or 10 strong in the streets… " Later, I learned that Sophiane used to play Rugby XII during school, so he could probably take care of himself. My desire to create this project was motivated by the sincere connection that I had with Sophiane and the unfriendly context of Marseilles. I felt that Sofiane and his friends were brave and that their stories would speak to others. They also need people to look at them with love and respect. I hope this is what they felt during the shoot. |
What do you want to do with this series (i.e., a gallery show, a book, more media coverage, etc.)?
As a photographer, I want this story to be seen. I want it to grow. We are happy to have this first chapter published with you! We hope to publish in various countries and to address various audiences. The main project that we call the ‘Lotheidoscope’ deals with homosexuality and Islam throughout Europe. We aim to have this exhibited in galleries and to be published as a book. I want the people I shoot to feel respected and heard by someone, even if I am not part of their community. I am not gay; I am not a Muslim. I want Sofiane and his friends to be heard by a large audience that includes other Muslims in Europe. Hopefully later we can create an exhibition featuring gay Muslims coming from different backgrounds and different parts of Europe. It is really different to be Muslim in Marseilles than a Muslim in Copenhagen. When I shoot pictures of young men and women who are in personal, intimate struggle with their identities, I want them—even if its just for two or three hours—to feel respected and loved for who they are and who they dream to be. How has doing this project impacted your life? To be frank, my wife and I were not aware at the beginning of the project of the struggles our subjects face in their everyday lives. Now, we talk about what is to be an escort here in Marseille, what it is to dream of a sexual reassignment so young, how families can reject people—even abuse them, and how a young student can be afraid every day of just going to the market. It was a reminder that in my own neighborhood, someone can live in a world so different and so difficult; that everyday, if I meet someone on the street I need to be aware of that. It reminds me of the best advice that filmmaker Ira Sachs gave me. On his set, between takes, he told me, quoting Socrates : "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." I do know that my new friends, Sofiane, Hamza, Aniss, Popia, Yarra, and Omar fight hard battles, and they need our kindness. What do you hope people understand from viewing this work? I hope people will read these stories and begin an open and frank dialogue. And to be more pragmatic, I hope to shoot more portraits in Paris, Amsterdam, and other cities in Europe and I do hope we find the money to invite them... Somewhere new, somewhere far from Marseille and their struggle, in a welcoming place, and that they will meet new friends. |
Jean-Christophe was born in 1969 in Paris. After graduating from Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, he started his career as the Art Director for the well-known women’s magazines DS, Numero, Numero Homme, and Very Elle. He has since designed books for Hazan and Calmann Levy, and taught the history of magazine production, graphic design, and narrative experimentation from book-to-film in art schools in France and the UK.
However, it was collaborating with Raymond Depardon for the production of the Paris-Journal photography book that marked a turning point in his career, revealing to him his passion for photography. Afterwards, he teamed up with his partner, Delphine Gubert, to launch the production company Little Big Pictures in 2013. Since then, Jean-Christophe has shot on-set photographs in New York with director Ira Sachs, and had his work exhibited at Sundance Film Festival and Amiens International Film Festival, which then took him on as their official portrait photographer. Today, he focuses on portrait and documentary photography, along with scriptwriting, in pursuit of the intense back and forth movement between the two. VISIT HIS WEBSITE HERE. |
Delphine Gubert,
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What do you hope will come from this project? I hope that this experience of being photographed and letting themselves tell their stories about their relationships with their families, with religion, and with people around them is a step in building their future identities. I hope it’s a step toward accepting themselves. I hope we will find some people or organizations that will be interested in our project, and will help us to show this work to more people so we can increase understanding and empathy in the general public. Finding galleries, editors, and institutions will allow us to travel with this project around Europe. We intend to enrich our subjects and help these young people to feel less misunderstood and less alone, and to see themselves in the future with more confidence and self-esteem. |