Homeless people, refugees, workers who can barely pay their rent, single parents, and women who have experienced domestic violence. All of these people face poverty in some form. The exhibition Les Exclus du Festin (“Excluded from the Feast”) and a book of the same name tell their stories. The project was launched by author Claude Frisoni and photographer Raymond Reuter in cooperation with the Chamber of Employees. The artists decided to meet people living in poverty and raise awareness of their situation.
This project took the two 18 months to complete. It was important to them to do more than just take a photo, Frisoni says: “To take a photo of one of these people, you don’t just go to their home and say ‘Hello, I want to do a shoot.’ No, you have to go several times, you have to gain their trust. You have to get to know them, but most of all you have to respect them.”
With the help of social workers, they were able to get in touch with people. It was an experience that took a toll on them, as Raymond Reuter recounts: “We came home, and we were just devastated. You hear things and you think to yourself, how can this be, how can something like this exist?” Reuter says that what he admires most is “the courage of these people, that they kept getting back up,” adding that “I think I would have shot myself in the head with all the misery these people have experienced.” Many of the people the artists spoke to also struggle with bureaucratic hurdles.
Frisoni suggests a meeting between different ministers to address these problems holistically: “Almost all ministries are concerned, so they need to be brought together with the social workers and the representatives of those I call victims. After that you can say, yes, we are the richest country, but we are also the country that best addresses the problem of poverty - and that is not the case today.”
The photos are on display at both the central railway station and the Passerelle until 16 July, and at the premises of the Chamber of Employees in Bonnevoie until mid-September.
“The state is very much responsible for this misery": Interview on RTL Infos
