Jane Evelyn Atwood - An undercover photographer

Jane Evelyn Atwood — An undercover photographer

January 12, 2024 to March 30, 2024
Le Parvis, Espace Culturel E.Leclerc
Avenue Lois Sallenave, 64000 Pau

Opening : Thursday January 11th at 6p.m.

The Parvis de Pau chose to ehibit three series from Jane Evelyn Atwood’s work : Pigalle, Blind People and Miscellaneous.

Miscellaneous

“Photos from assignments, or photos done freely, photos from luck and even hasard – these pictures were taken here and there, on walks, with family, alone, when I wander or when I work for others. They are like punctuations in a sentence, parts of longer stories, maybe a pause, perhaps a parenthesis.
All the pictures that are not necessarily included in the subjects of my books but that count, every bit as much, in my life as a photographer.
All of these photos made by me, a kind of diary, my own miscellaneous self.”
– Jane Evelyn Atwood

Blind People

“The idea to photograph the blind came from a personal curiosity about those who cannot see but who must live, nonetheless, in the world of us who can.
Blind people don’t know how they look, want to look, or are afraid to look to others. They have none of those referents, and so don’t prepare themselves for the image. This lack of self-censorship often makes the pictures more interesting, if not necessarily easier to create.
Photographing people who cannot see obliges me to see differently. The blind remain a special subject for me, one which I will never completely finish.”
– Jane Evelyn Atwood

Pigalle

“When I photographed Pigalle in 1978-1979, I found a mix of prostitutes, transgenders, homeless people, neighborhood regulars, mom-and-pop businesses run by couples who lived right above the shop, and tourists.

Barbara was big, blonde, and almost always drunk. She hung out in a tiny bar, Chez Sylvain. In the late morning, I’d see her hunched over, unshaven, in men’s pajamas. She orders a double Ricard for breakfast. Later, she’s got the wig, the short skirt, the high heels. Each trans cultivates a unique personality; you see it in the way she dresses. Raymonde and Caline were artists, in a cabaret show; Miranda, the provocative dark beauty, the femme fatale; Nouja, the feminist, the intello, with a sharp tongue and biting humor. Ingrid was The Star. ”
– Jane Evelyn Atwood