Unique stories
Then, the night and day patrols, the center visits, the meetings followed one after another. Bonds were formed, trust was established. Doris Ramseyer discovered the paths of each one. “Everyone has a unique story. I heard the fractures that I sensed, in the paths of life.”
In the street, women, men, teenagers “struggle”. They are struggling, they are also laughing and celebrating. “A whole bunch of emotions are expressed.” The photographer captured some of them. Her shots are all taken on the spot. There is no studio, no posing. “These are people moving in their environment.”
She spoke with about a hundred people. She selected 42 photographs. These will all, or almost all, be captioned. “The people photographed were free to tell me what they wanted.” Four testimonies will also be displayed. “They say how one day one can end up on the street.” She insists: “The street is not a choice.”
To explore her subject further, Doris Rasmeyer also interviewed Father Christophe, met with members of the association “Emauta pour rendre l’espoir”, and consulted the report by Yasmina Taerea entitled “Wandering and spatial practices of the homeless in French Polynesia” and published in March 2022 with the Maison de l’Homme.
15 times more in less than 30 years
The figures speak for themselves: in 1995, 40 to 50 people lived on the streets of Papeete compared to 698 in 2023. All age categories are concerned: elderly people, adults, young adults and minors, increasingly.
There are many reasons for this significant increase. Economic difficulties are not the only cause. For example, Yasmina Taerea writes: “The analysis of life stories shows that the street, far from being perceived as a risky space, is very often first considered by homeless people as a ‘refuge’. Indeed, being put on the street allows them to distance themselves from relatives, most often without completely breaking ties, and thus to regulate tensions that are too strong within the family framework. When these tensions are too frequent and too intense, members of the household, often in a dominated or victimized position, can thus consider being put on the street as an escape in order to regain control of their own existence – to build a ‘life to them’.” Doris Ramseyer can confirm this.
“They taught me a lot”
Doris Ramseyer defines herself as a social or humanist photographer. This practice, dear in particular to Robert Doisneau, born in France at the end of the Second World War, takes a neutral and benevolent look at the human being “in its framework”. “I wanted to show those we see without really seeing them on a daily basis.”
With her exhibition, Doris Ramseyer invites the public to question their own vision of homelessness and the reasons for this vision. “One might wonder why most passers-by do not even give the homeless a glance or a smile.” The photographer, although aware of the subject, says she changed alongside them. “I don’t see them the same way anymore. I don’t see my life the same way anymore. They all taught me a lot.”
She was born in 1976. Of Franco-Swiss origin, Doris Ramseyer grew up in Alsace until the age of 18. Then she studied and worked in Switzerland. She was a nurse. Why? “Because I love people”, she answers quite naturally. In 2006, after seven years of professional practice, she set off on an adventure with her partner, her camera slung over her shoulder. “It has been a passion for many years.” She alternated between travel and work, immortalizing people, their culture, their way of life, their differences. “I am interested in all subjects”, she said, as long as they have a connection with humans.
She finally settled in Polynesia in 2011. She started a family and, finally, launched into photography full time. She does not miss being a nurse, “because I didn’t find my way around anymore.” This first long-term work, “artistic” et “authentic”, is a start. “It’s a driving force, I already have lots of ideas for the future.” She remains discreet about her upcoming projects, but concludes: “What is certain is that injustice and exclusion particularly affect me.”
