Jamaya, known in Narbonne as a local artist, has been exhibiting for more than 15 years in France and Europe. She is showing, at the Château de Prat-de-Cest, on December 7 from 6 to 10 p.m., her Joker project on a theme that is dear to her: after the invisibility of disability, the invisibility of mental health.
This Jamaya exhibition is, in Occitania, for the moment, its last stop. She will hit the road again across France in 2025 to participate in the collective exhibition “Plural Landscapes”, which raises awareness of the place of man in the environment. In 2026, she will return to her beginnings with an exhibition in Paris, where she had her first exhibitions (such as at the Carrousel du Louvre). In the meantime, the photographer has agreed to answer our questions about this project, which is on display for one day only, December 7 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Chateau de Prat-de-Cest.
What brought you to this project?
This project was born from my desire to explore, through a deeply human Joker as revealed in the 2019 film, the invisible reality of mental health.
The Joker is an American character. Are you Americanizing Occitania, are you Occitanizing America, or is the Joker a transcultural character?
The Joker is, in fact, a character from American culture, but he has long since crossed borders to become a transcultural symbol. In Occitania, we have our own stories and symbols, but the themes explored through the Joker – such as loneliness, inner struggle and human complexity – are universal. By working on this character as part of my project, I seek to reveal that these human emotions are shared everywhere, regardless of culture. My intention is to show that these inner struggles, often hidden, transcend borders and remind us of our common humanity. The Joker is a prism through which everyone, wherever they are, can recognize and question themselves. A face to face with yourself perhaps.
The image is your means of expression. How do you define Jamaya style?
The Jamaya style is an immersion in the ordinary: impactful visual stories that reveal the invisible and give voice to human emotions.
Who did you work with?
My photo model, Matthias Ronchi, himself an artist, we met during a session for his photo cover that I produced. During that session, I knew I had found “my Joker,” even though I didn’t tell him right away. Then, Diane Martin, international makeup artist, joined the project and succeeded in bringing this iconic face to life.
