While photographing refugees in France, Belgium, Austria, and Sweden in 2018, Alan Gignoux noticed that a recurring theme among them was the gradual erosion of self, resulting from prolonged periods of living in limbo at the fringes of society.
In the UK, people seeking asylum similarly endure extended periods of uncertainty while awaiting a response to their applications. Unable to work, they may endure poverty or destitution, poor physical and mental health, and even internment in a detention centre. If their application is rejected, they must come to terms with not only the wasted years but also the frightening prospect of being forced to return to a country that they risked all to leave. Those who remain in the UK after their asylum application has been rejected face an uncertain and insecure future, entirely dependent on the support of family, friends, and charitable organisations.
To create a visual metaphor for the corrosive impact of the asylum process on individuals, Gignoux worked with a camera obscura using a long exposure to blur the identity of the refugees whom he photographed while leaving the background in focus. Seeking to include the refugees’ voices in the project, he invited the people whom he photographed, as well as other refugees who wanted to participate, to write a creative response to the blurred portraits in writing workshops.
Published by gignouxphotos
Edition of 60
87 pages
341 x 297 mm
ISBN 9781999961077
