“As a woman photographer, I wanted to work with women prisoners. Because they represent 4% of the prison population and they remain invisible,” argues the photographer. In this prison cell, there is no question of returning the woman to her prisoner condition. “Because they are normal women,” insists Céline Levain. If part of their life was stopped by passing through the heavy doors of the detention center, they will return to the normal course of their existence. The one they left behind. This is what the photographer endeavored to reveal.
“Silhouettes, the pout of a lip, the crease in a neck”
Nothing reminds me of prison. Sober and refined, each portrait stands out against a brown background. Nothing more. No legend. The writing is only present at the beginning of the book. Women’s first names and the preface by the novelist Pauline Delabroy-Allard. Entitled “In the dark forest of existence”, it tells of “silhouettes, the pout of a lip, the crease in a neck, the wrinkle in the corner of the eye, the split hair, the bold cheekbone. » All modesty and roundness. Subtle and sensitive. By imagining the little girls that these women were. “I only saw her for this preface. She immediately accepted and the text immediately stuck,” confides Céline Levain.
We turn the pages. First portrait. That of a woman, rosary placed on her head like a bindi, this Indian jewel that is placed in her hair. Comes a second then a third portrait. Then a landscape. Full page. A body of water. The sea and the foam. This landscape is not known to the inmates.
-“It’s simply an illustration of a description they gave me,” explains Céline Levain. During our discussions, I asked them to tell me about the place they came from, where they would go when they left, what landscape they would be in. I took notes. As soon as I came across a place that matched the description, I took a photo of it. » Images captured in Brazil, in the mountains, in Monflanquin, in Roullet-Saint-Estèphe in Charente… During the photographer’s professional travels or her walks. And so on.
Captives, editions Sur la Crête, €28.
