Of love and rage

of love and rage is a joint work, a work of listening, mutual attention and images thought together, carried out in Givors during the 5-star residency to which I was invited by Stimultania.

The title is taken from the book Living with the disorder by Donna J Haraway. This is what these photographs are about: how to live with the disorder that often impacts our lives? How can we deploy our power and tenderness in a world that is fueled by anxiety, fear of tomorrow, and loneliness?

Together, we imagined these works as resistance, acts of self-affirmation, refuges for the stories that sleep deep in our bellies. Images like poetic manifestos.

With Yamina, we told each other stories of bodies that endure, of suppressed cries, of necessary muscle building, of tenderness, of the nest. With Élisa, stories of ashes in the eyes, of blindness, of frank gaze, of earth sticking to the feet. With Nabil, his body bent and his heart devoured by the Factory, stories of tenderness despite everything, of words to hold on and save oneself. With Thierry, stories of holy places, necessary refuge, kerosene lamps, geopolitics of the body, suitcases and endless waiting.

With M., we thought up stories about skins, escapes and marabouts. With Filipe, a story of scars. With Amélie, the words shell, seed, plants, words of obligation for her female body. With Medhi, stories of shelter when you are homeless, of dogs, of God and of alcohol. With Mallory, we told stories of the square, the green plant, the rich, the big night and the big fire.

Text: Mathieu Farcy