“Distinguishing features”
UM students are openly standing up against racism. A traveling photo exhibition, on display until June at the University of Montpellier campuses.
Fascinating, luminous gazes that seem to call out to passersby... An extraordinary photo exhibition, displayed on cubes nearly 2 meters high. This unique work has been taken out of its walls and exhibited outdoors, in places open to the public, in order to better engage with viewers...
Striking portraits
Their names are Oneil, Xueping, Malika, and Vera.
What brings them together? They are all students at the University of Montpellier. They are between 18 and 24 years old.
What sets them apart? Almost everything, at least in appearance. They are like all women and men on the planet: so similar, yet so different.
The exhibition takes pleasure in highlighting this difference in an unexpected way. Each student is identified by their first name, age, nationality... and something extra: each one suggested a sentence to the photographer. A simple sentence, unusual or serious, quirky or enigmatic, that says something about them.
“Living mirrors of the UM”
"I slipped off my bike on the wet pavement at Peyrou: six stitches," says Jean Bowaou, a 24-year-old Guinean with a dazzling smile and a white bandage on his forehead. For Ines, it's a cryptic joke: "I agree with my mother: 'Men are like lawns!'" says the beautiful Ivorian. Others mention their membership of a visible minority: "I've seen at most five other redheads like me on campus," says Margaux, an 18-year-old French woman with a Madonna-like smile.
"These faces are a living reflection of the University of Montpellier. They bear witness to its openness to the world and to diversity. Through the palette of these gazes, the photographer paints a picture of humanity as a whole. They are an invitation to joy and encounter. They shine with the happiness of living together. They are the pride of the University of Montpellier," explains Jean-Paul Udave, UM's anti-racism and anti-Semitism officer.
Traveling exhibition
Produced on the initiative of the UM by photographer Karl Joseph, the exhibition "Signes particuliers" (Distinguishing Features) can be seen on the Richter campus until October 9, then at numerous university locations:
- Montpellier Triolet: March 23 to April 10
- Montpellier Richter: April 10 to April 30
- Nîmes – University Institute of Technology: April 30 to May 15
- Montpellier Faculty of Education: May 15 to May 29
Thank you to all the UM students who agreed to participate and let themselves be captured in a sentence and a photo...
The photographer
Karl Joseph was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. From an early age, he wanted to capture in images the realities of this land marked by oral tradition. From then on, photography became his lifelong passion. In 2011, he co-founded the Rencontres Photographiques de Guyane festival. Considering himself first and foremost a documentary photographer, he is particularly interested in the relationship between people and their territories, especially in the context of current migratory phenomena.