In 1960 Marc Garanger, the photographer of these images, was stationed against his will in Alge
In 1960 Marc Garanger, the photographer of these images, was stationed against his will in Algeria, and managed to avoid combat by becoming a photographer in the French army. His job was to produce images for new mandatory ID cards, and villagers were forced to sit for him. As a part of its unsuccessful effort to block the Algerian push for independence, the French government introduced identity cards as a security measure - all Algerians had to carry an ID card. However the portraits Garanger produced were unlike most portraits. The women did not wish to be photographed. They were forced to pose before a photographer who was a serving French soldier and who was accompanied by other French troops. Apart from the coercive circumstances in which the photographs were taken, there was another factor. Many of the women had been veiled throughout their entire adult lives but to comply with French orders they had to unveil.Confronted by this assault on their cultural and religious sensitivities, the stress, the fear, the humiliation and the anger produced in Garanger’s unwilling subjects can be read clearly on many of the faces of the women he photographed - as can flashes of defiance.Years later Garanger produced a book containing many of the 2,000 pictures of Algerian women he took during his period of military service and several of the portraits featured in exhibitions he staged in a number of countries. Given the circumstances in which the pictures were obtained, it has been noted that his photographs “often led to angry reactions from viewers and critics at exhibitions”.[However] the expressions of these women are principally of defiance, hatred of their oppressors, and rebellion. The women were combatants as well, as has been mentioned in the article. perhaps there’s an inkling of truth in that they were ashamed to show their faces, but what i sense from these expressions is that they’re telling the French “you’ll soon be gone”…and they were right.“ - sourceThe French colonialism/occupation of Algeria was one of the most brutal in history, and the Algerians’ independence war cost over a million of their lives. Algeria’s War of Independence from France officially lasted almost a decade, but its genesis goes back to the early 40s. It was one the bloodiest struggles against a brutal colonial power with over a million Algerians killed, with thousands interned in concentration camps. To this day, the French have not accepted responsibility for these crimes. more images here -- source link
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