honorable mention
Lee-Marie Sadek france
title
How they made me an alien
Now that he's been released until his second trial without the permission to return to his homeland, he found himself a stranger in a strange land ; not able to speak or understand the language, with neither papers nor money.
When i heard the story of this man and after that i met him, it was clear to me that my cover story will take a kafkaesque direction. This is the story of someone who is held and lost in a society that is completly “stranger” to him.
Through that work i had no intention to show his innocence or denounce an injustice system, but to build an intimate portrait of a man facing a new turn in his life ; a condition he is forced to deal with.
In the first diptych there’s a photo that shows at first sight a white hat and a white paper out of blackness. Then we can see someone under this hat holding that piece of paper while contemplating the number written on it. This photo symbolise effectively the situation of a man whose existence is from now on conditioned by his own case.
On the first of february 2013, the court of appeal in Melun declared Ahmed Abdulahi Guelleh innocent for the second and final time.
My work is divided between fine arts photography and documentary. I consider photography to be a personal expression but also a reflexion. My images are about concepts that question not only the subject (what is seen) but the photographer himself through his work and the medium that is used to produce such concepts.
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entry description
Ahmed Abdulahi Guelleh is a somalian fisherman who was accused of piracy against the french ship “Carré d’As”. In 2008 he was jailed for 3 years in France before being acquitted.Now that he's been released until his second trial without the permission to return to his homeland, he found himself a stranger in a strange land ; not able to speak or understand the language, with neither papers nor money.
When i heard the story of this man and after that i met him, it was clear to me that my cover story will take a kafkaesque direction. This is the story of someone who is held and lost in a society that is completly “stranger” to him.
Through that work i had no intention to show his innocence or denounce an injustice system, but to build an intimate portrait of a man facing a new turn in his life ; a condition he is forced to deal with.
In the first diptych there’s a photo that shows at first sight a white hat and a white paper out of blackness. Then we can see someone under this hat holding that piece of paper while contemplating the number written on it. This photo symbolise effectively the situation of a man whose existence is from now on conditioned by his own case.
On the first of february 2013, the court of appeal in Melun declared Ahmed Abdulahi Guelleh innocent for the second and final time.
about the photographer
I was born in Beirut - Lebanon in 1977. I wanted to be a graphic designer in the purpose to design CD booklets and posters. In 1995 i went to Brussels for two years to study Typography and Graphic Design at La Cambre (school of visual arts in Brussels). After it, i returned to my country and had my degree in Mass Media - Publicity at the Lebanese University. In 2001 i moved to France where i live now, and had my master degree in Communication-Publicity. Then i dropped all my publicity studies out of interest, but the passion to produce an image was still a need inside me, so i turned naturally into photography. In 2012 i had my degree in Fine Arts - Photography at the University of Paris 8.My work is divided between fine arts photography and documentary. I consider photography to be a personal expression but also a reflexion. My images are about concepts that question not only the subject (what is seen) but the photographer himself through his work and the medium that is used to produce such concepts.
back to gallery