Colored Only
Hélène Jayet
20.06 > 26.09, Alliance française Bruxelles, Avenue des Arts 46, Brussels 1000
Hélène Jayet, photographer originally from Mali and member of the Collective Transit, is fascinated by the singular atmosphere that prevails in the African hair salons of Château d’eau Street in the tenth arrondissement of Paris. In an effort to document the African oasis residing in this European capital and capture its electric atmosphere, the artist shoots unique portraits depicting the customers with the most eccentric African traditional hairstyles. Yet, the choice of a neutral background suggests a different connotation of her body of work: the portraits remind us of Western ID photographs. Therefore, in a desire to create a fusion between the two cultures, the artist incorporates issues of history, memory and identity that are profoundly embedded in our contemporary culture. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Where we’re at! Other voices on gender at BOZAR (www.bozar.be).
