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Visonquest contemporary photography is pleased to begin the 2015\/2016 season during START - the collective opening of all the galleries in Genova \u2013 with Patrick Willocq and the project I am Wal\u00e9 respect me \/ Forever Wal\u00e9. This series of photographs are the representation of Willocq\u2019s total immersion in a initiation ritual. A project that is both a reportage and an artistic testament; images that want to be as close as possible to the experience of the Ekonda Pigmies of the Democratic Repubblic of Congo The Ekondas believe that the most important moment in the life of a woman is the birth of her first child. The young mother called Wal\u00e9 (primiparous nursing moher) returns to her parents where she remains secluded for a period of 2 to 3 years. By stricyly respecting several taboos, during this period, including the taboo of sex, she is given a status similar to that of a patriarch. The end of her reclusion is marked by a dancing and singing ritual. The choreography and songs have a very codified structure but are unique creations specific to each Wal\u00e9. \u201cI have always been fascinated by native tribes because I feel they have a wealth that we have somehow lost. To document this beautiful tribute to motherhood, fertility and femininity, I proposed to some Wal\u00e9s, whom I\u2019ve known for over a year, to participate in staged photographs that would bear witness to a part of their personal history. Each set-up worked as a visual representation of one of the subjects that the Wal\u00e9 would sing about on the day of her release from seclusion.\u201d \u2013 Patrick Willocq The Wal\u00e9 ritual is highly competitive as it\u2019s about having more prestige and power than your rivals When a young mother becomes a Wal\u00e9, she takes a nickname that differentiates her from rivals and positions her in the eyes of the community. Every day the young woman engages in an elaborate toilette designed to focus everyone\u2019s attention on her. She spreads a red preparation, a mixture of powder of ngola wood with palm oil, over her own body. The sophisticated hairstyles, made of a mud like paste, a mixture of ashes from bopokoloko leaves and palm oil, are yet another way for Wal\u00e9s to flaunt their uniqueness. \u201cBosala, Wal\u00e9 Leopard\u201d \u00abEnsansa: Wal\u00e9 l\u00e2ng\u00f3y\u00e0l\u00e9 nk\u00f2i ng\u2019\u00e1\u00f2p\u00f3sa l\u00fbm\u00f2l\u00e1 ngw\u00e1 la nt\u00e1b\u00e0. B\u00e0s\u00f3mi b\u00e2k\u00ecn\u00fa lob\u00e9t\u00e1m\u00e1 nd\u00e9 b\u00ect\u00e1nda. Wal\u00e9 l\u00e0 ng\u00f3y\u00e0l\u00e9 nk\u00f2i nd\u00e9 b\u00ect\u00e1nda l\u00fbm\u00f3l\u00e1 ngw\u00e1 \u00bb. Song : Wal\u00e9 became like leopard when she hunts, you hide dogs and goats. My assistants lie on branches. Wal\u00e9 it looks like she became leopard on branch, remove dogs. By comparing herself to a leopard, Wal\u00e9 Bosala (17 years old, married, 1 year in seclusion, mother of Pauline) expresses her singularity and displays her superiority. She also warns other Wal\u00e9s: she has the willpower to defend against them if necessary \u201cNtembe, sparrowhawk Wal\u00e9\u201d \u00abEnsansa: Njal\u00e9 nkomb\u00e9 \u00e9n\u00e9 y\u00e9l\u00fa\u00e1 nd\u2019\u00f3kili, nts\u00edb\u00e1t\u00e1 \u00edb\u00e1ko nd\u2019\u00f3l\u00f2go bi\u00e0l\u00e9\u00bb. Song : I became sparrowhawk wandering the world. I did not find sitting at court, you understand Wal\u00e9s Wal\u00e9 Ntembe (18 years old, without a husband, 2 years in seclusion, the mother of Beane), self-praises her attitude and discredits other Wal\u00e9s that spend too much time walking about in the village (which is dishonourable) while she remains in her hut to care for her child The time spent in these villages and the complicity resulting from this, are at the root of these artistic \u201cmise en scene\u201d and basically reflect the social problems and development needs of these peoples. But in a harmony of multiple, different elements, forms and colors, they give us back the beauty, simplicity, dignity and conflicts of everyday life, inspite all the difficulties that each of these people face. And it is nice to think that all of this, while appearing remarkably intimate and personal where Willocq focuses on the ritual of the Wal\u00e9 women, it is first and foremost the result of a unique collaboration with young pygmy women, their respective clans, the artisans of the forest who helped with the sets, an ethnomusicologist and a photographer. As if everyone was trying to become the symbol for an entire people but without any homologation or cultural integration, while maintaining the pride, respect and dignity of the individual. Technical Info: \u2022 Archival Fine Art Prints on MOAB entrada\u00a9 rag bright 300 paper, mounted on dibond and oak frame. cm 110 x 145 edition of \u2022 Archival Fine Art Prints on MOAB entrada\u00a9 rag bright 300 pape. cm 60 x 80 edition of 6 Bio: Patrick Willocq was born in 1969 in Strasbourg, France. He lives and works in Hong Kong, Kinshasa and Paris. A self-taught photographer for 25 years, he has lived 34 years outside France, including 7 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2012, and following a trip back to the Congo, Patrick decides to devote himself entirely to photography (he was working for multinationals in Asia Pacific for over 20 years). Through his work he wants to offer a different image of the Congo and Africa in general, and go beyond images of war which media tend to focus on. www.patrickwillocq.com Exhibitions: 2015 \u201cI am wal\u00e9 respect me \/ forever wale\u201d, VisionQuesT contemporary photography , Genova, Italy \u201cI am wal\u00e9 respect me \/ forever wale\u201d, galerie baudoin lebon, Paris, France GRID, Cape Town, Afrique du Sud Format International Photography Festival, Derby, Royaume-Unis Festival des Peuples Autochtones, Kinshasa, Republique Democratique du Congo 2014 Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale de France, Paris, France Lagos Photo, Nigeria Encontros da Imagen, Braga, Portugal Les Rencontres d\u2019Arles, France Schau Dortmund (s\u00e9lectionn\u00e9 par Martin Parr), Dortmund, Allemagne Kolga Tbilisi Photo, Tbilisi, G\u00e9orgie Flash Forward, Boston, \u00c9tats-Unis MAC, Cr\u00e9teil, France 2013 Photo OFF, Paris, France Angkor Wat Photo, Angkor, Cambodge Lagos Photo, Nigeria Agence Fran\u00e7aise de D\u00e9veloppement, Paris, France Institut Fran\u00e7ais de Kinshasa, Republique Democratique du Congo International Photography Festival, Belo Horizonte, Br\u00e9sil Les Photographes Voyageurs, Bordeaux, France Circulation(s), Paris, France Awards Finaliste Lens Culture New Talent Award Finaliste Renaissance Photography Prize Finaliste Leica Oskar Barnack Award Nomine au Prix Decouverte d\u2019Arles Laure at de La Bourse du Talent Portrait Laur\u00e9at du Prix POPCAP 2013 Finaliste Lens Culture Exposure Award 2012 Finaliste Concours SFR Jeunes Talents Paris Photo 1er prix du meilleur reportage photo de l\u2019AFD<\/p>\n
printable version<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"October 2nd \u2013 November 29th 2015\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Artist\u2019s Opening Reception:\u00a0\u00a0 Thursday October 1st, 2015\u00a0 from 6pm to midnightDuration: October 2nd \u2013 November 29th , 2015Location: Studio Clelia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1009"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3536,"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions\/3536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visionquest.it\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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