Léonard

The project, started in 2018, is an ongoing long-term portrait of my brother Léonard, who has Down syndrome. Photographed from within our shared family life, it explores disability, masculinity, and the idea of “normality” through intimacy and duration.

The project started in 2018 and is an ongoing long-term portrait of my brother Léonard.

Léonard has Down syndrome. Growing up together, his presence shaped my understanding of difference from an early age. As his sister, I photograph from within our shared history. What began as an instinctive gesture gradually developed into a sustained exploration of disability, masculinity, and the social construction of “normality.”

The work is produced within our everyday life: at home, on holidays, in moments of solitude or shared time. The images build visual continuity and trace both his growth and the evolution of our relationship over time.

This is a lifelong project. Its meaning lies in duration in returning, observing, and continuing to look. The series insists on proximity. Within the family space, gestures of care and physical closeness challenge dominant representations of male identity.

Over time, the work functions both as a personal archive and as a documentary reflection on living with difference.