IVORY COAST: Ivorian photographer Thierry Gouegnon exhibits pictures of of country's recent civil unrest

Record ID: 182131

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Ivorian photographer Thierry Gouegnon exhibits pictures of of country's recent civil unrest
  • Date: 29th December 2011
  • Summary: CHILDREN WATCHING (SOUNDBITE) (French) THIERRY GOUEGNON, PHOTOGRAPHER SAYING: "I'm much more inspired by children, by colors and everything that is beautiful, I search for everything I can find that draws people in with colour or strength. That's what inspires me." VARIOUS OF GOUEGNON SHOWING HIS PICTURES TO CHILDREN
  • Embargoed: 13th January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: Conflict,Arts,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2YIUMLC6AHZ6TP1OZ2YOWSKOT
  • Story Text: When chaos erupted in Ivory Coast after disputed elections in November 2010, freelance Ivorian photographer Thierry Gouegnon was among those drafted in by international news agencies to help capture what was happening on the ground.
    Working alongside Ivorian and international colleagues, Gouegnon snapped political rallies held by opposing camps, street clashes between supporters of the opposing politicians and in particular the fall out for the thousands of ordinary Ivorians whose lives were disrupted by the conflict.
    More than anything, Gouegnon zoned in on children choosing their faces to tell the story of Ivory Coast's most vulnerable victims.
    Now the violence has subsided his work has diversified back to more general subjects - the arts, culture and society - but he still likes focusing his lens on young people.
    "I'm much more inspired by children, by colors and everything that is beautiful, I search for everything I can find that draws people in with colour or strength. That's what inspires me," Gouegnon said, adding:
    "We need to open our eyes to what children do. They are vulnerable in our society where adults make the laws. They are the deciders and they (the children) are never asked their opinion on everything we do."
    At a recent exhibition of his photos in the capital Abidjan, visitors were treated to a range of Gouegnon's pictures most from the recent conflict. Many of them portraits and others more abstract, capturing movement and feeling using light effects and shadow.
    "The moments captured by Thierry are significant. Moments of joy, moments of pain and moments of unanswered questions. Thierry enters the world of children for us so that we can feel what they feel when they are happy, what they feel when they are sad and what they feel when they are carefree," said one visitor, Alain Badje.
    Speaking at the exhibition Gouegnon explained why photographing children during the conflict helped portray the story better.
    "I realised that it is a crisis that has affected many people but especially children, especially children. Times of meals were something very hard to bear because this is something we see all the time in another context, I mean we see theses images from other countries at war but this time it was in my country Ivory Coast and for me it could not go unnoticed," he said.
    For student Yasmine Diawara, everyday images taken from the time of violence was a haunting reminder of how deeply many, particularly children were effected.
    "I see the happiness and innocence of a child because he doesn't understand. He doesn't get what situation the country is in at the time, he's just happy being washed," she said.
    Other stories Gouegnon has covered include refugees in Ivory Coast and the cult following of Didier Drogba, the country's star football player.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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