2. Roulez Jeunesse

➔ PORTRAIT PHOTO SERIES / Artistic direction, communication / Aug. 2022-in process
Personnal project with Juliette Alhmah (→ link)
« I am from La Creuse »

Usually, after I say this, I get a bunch of reactions; confusion, mockery, and even astonishment. Juliette Alhmah, who worked on this project with me, also grew up in this region of France. La Creuse is a big void in the middle of France. Nothing much goes on, and nothing much will go on. We left the region after High School to travel, pursue our studies, and get out of our hometown.

Camera: Mamiya C330 - Folder in process

During the week Jeremy works in the big stock of “Les Petites Mains” (his parents' thrift shop business). On weekends, he searches the country's woods for all types of minerals and precious stones. Thanks to this niche passion, he managed to find sapphires, up to become respected by the experts and medias.

After getting out, we soon realized that many young people's lifestyle in La Creuse was not enough. They weren’t pushed to pursue an education and were often left to work the region's only jobs: agriculture and health. On top of that, travel was minimal. Many people don’t have the means to obtain a driver's license, and public transport is measly compared to its urban counterparts. Due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic, the already stressed medical resources have been put under an even more enormous strain.

Victor works by taking care of all the tenants in the low-rent housing district of Brésard (Guéret). To empty his head of daily stress, sport such as football or the gym, essentially helps him to hold on and decompress in the face of lack of help from the state.

So after researching and seeing how the youth in our home region are so disadvantaged, Juliette and I have started building a series of documentary-style portraits. Each photographic series is designed to reveal each young person's universe. This series aims to draw several images of what La Creuse’s youth looks like and will show those conditions simply, neutrally, and authentically.

We have also conducted interviews to support these photographs so they can explain their link with this region we are all from. In the future, we would love to exhibit this project in a gallery so that a wider audience can learn and interact with it.

Silence and wide open spaces help Chloé in her art. She combines passion and work in her studio which also serves as rent.