Etat(s) d'urgence is a large photographic portfolio I produced (with Elisabeth's collaboration) in Paris in the months following the terrorist attacks of 13. November 2015. 

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Most of the photos were taken during rush hours in the Parisian metro network, and in particular in the metro stations that are close to the sites where the attacks had taken place.

 

The questions motivating this work were: 

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To what extent is the “climate of insecurity”, which has been highlighted by the French media in the aftermath of these terrible events, perceptible in the everyday life of Paris, and how to restore it within the framework of a photographic practice?

 

More generally, how to grasp the scope of events that have a massive (psychological, social, …) impact on society, but to which there is not yet distance enough to comprehend them in a non-emotional way? Is it possible to visualise such "state(s) of emergency"? How to tell the truth from fiction when ultra-violence has disrupted peace in society ? What happens if emotions shake the fragile relation between war and truth? 

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