BUTTERFLIES / CHAPTER 4

In Ancient Greece, drifting souls were often represented by

butterflies symbols. This was a direct link to Psyche, the

soul goddess, who was similarly depicted with delicate

Lepidoptera wings.

When looking for a title for my work on the mental condition,

I wanted a word that elevated the individuals I had met above

the stale socially created traumas and stigmatisations, which

had ruined their lives. The word “Butterflies” soon imposed

itself as an image of a delicate but radiant state of being. A

description of freedom constantly terrorised by the outside

world and an unstable condition made splittable by a misplaced caress. This soul vulnerability constantly immersed in fear became my main obsession while photographing the men and women

frozen in institutions or healing centers.

CHAPTER 4 (INDONESIA)

In their cages, enslaved by chains, past the other’s

indifferent abuse, apparent animals are holding onto a dying

humanity. Others are dreaming of freedom through the ingestion of a primal state. Everyone deeply estranged but so closely linked by a raw matter.