Opening Friday, November 8, 6pm.
“From this cosmopolitan swell, no names, dates or stories remain. My installations aim to give substance to these people who have been rendered invisible by history. Thanks to these photographs of proof, trace and memory, a dialogue between the two shores of the Mediterranean can be re-established. Ne m’oublie pas is a bridge linking France and Africa, a memorial bridge between past and present, a journey – that of the migrant and the photo – that rehabilitates our memory.” – Jean-Marie Donat
This exhibition was born of Jean-Marie Donat’s discovery of the photographic collection of Studio Rex, located in the working-class district of Belsunce in Marseille, which is essentially made up of photos of migrants from North and West Africa.
Out of the ordinary in terms of the abundance of portraits and the elegance of the studio photos, this exhibition aims to give a face to these thousands of men who came to work in France, to lift them out of the group anonymity to which history most often condemns them. The juxtaposition, selection and assembly of photographs offer several overlapping points of view, blurring the boundary between public and private, between the history of these men and women in transit and that of a country.
Ne m’oublie pas reweaves the broken dialogue between the two shores of the Mediterranean by contrasting photos brought from the country of origin with those taken in France for relatives back home.
Practical information :
Alcazar Library
58, cours Belsunce 13001 Marseille
Tue. Thu. 1pm-7pm
Wed. Fri. Sat. 10am-7pm
Tel : 04 91 55 90 00
