My Sentimental Journey, 1997

Parisien(ne)s, curated by Hou Hanru, Iniva in collaboration with the Camden Arts Centre, Camden Arts Centre, London, 1997 ; Passeurs, curated by Julie Sauerwein and Adriaan Himmelreich, Centre national de la photographie, Paris, 1998 ; Expérience du divers, Galerie Art et Essai, Rennes, France, 1999.

I travelled to my country at the time of the Kobe earthquake in February 1995. The purpose of my journey was to search for the house where I had lived during my childhood. I departed from Paris and arrived in Osaka. Then I took the train until it stopped, after that I had to walk. During my trip, I took photographs with a small camera that I have had for 20 years. On my return to Paris, I felt the need to photograph people and cities in order to obtain other testimonies of different continents and cultures, especially in the place where I now live. The purpose of my photography on the journey was personal and experimental; it was not educational or documentary.For the installation in this exhibition, the slide-projected images are juxtaposed with musical sounds and conversations from different countries and languages.

By presenting them within the intimate and fragile atmosphere of the tent, I want to invite the spectator to share not only my personal experiences of travel but also my inner struggles to establish my identity. The spectator is immersed in an intimate, physical, emotional and unstable environment.

Installation : tent and slideshow with sound