Contenu du sommaire : Les Images de l'identité

Photography and identity dynamics in contemporary African societies
Using ethnographic data gathered in West Africa, we set out to review relationships between constructions of identity and photographic images in contemporary African societies, taking into account technical characteristics of photographs and the uses made of them in the past. At first, as photographs could be used for legal purposes as a form of personal identification, the relationship between Africans and photography was seen by the State (during its colonial and postcolonial periods) as a form of mimesis, thus giving the photograph the power of truth which played a determining role in the construction of contemporary images of Africa. Later, Africans distanced themselves from the mimetic power of photographic images by creating representations which tend to blur the barriers between what is real and what is fiction. Thus these images act as tests, in the experimental sense of the word, which create a short moment during which the subject's concept of reality and of imagery coincide. As a result, the photographer's workshop becomes a privileged place – beyond control by the group – in which subjects, momentarily released from community constraints, give free rein to their individual aspirations.

The “filmi” contagion : filmgoers and the art of mixing images in Bombay cinema
The relationship between Hindi films and their audience has often been ignored, in particular the importance of imitation and influence. For example, it can be said of a person that he or she acts, speaks or dresses like a filmi. Thus, the Indian filmgoers can be divided into two groups : on the one hand, those who know how to differentiate between fiction and reality and, on the other, those who watch films “automatically” and freely repeat what they have seen on the screen. The author has chosen to examine several cases where, after the screening, he puts the film and its public to the test. This can take various forms : there are tests for contagion, resemblance, vigour, viability and closeness to truth. These tests offer many ways of enriching and “re-setting the time element” in the cinematographic relationship : between the projection and the conversation, between the conversation and the imitation/reproduction (which we know will never be exactly “identical”), confirming a cognitive connivance is only due to one's intimate relationship with the screen. Changing the time frame is also, to a certain extent, a way of changing one's relationship with the cinema and its multiplicity of reproducible objects.

Construction of a urban identity by the use of images. A case study of Bengui, a favela in the Brazilian Amazonia. The social organisation of Bengui, a favela in Belem in the Brazilian Amazonia, is based on a strong mobilisation of its inhabitants to create associations with the objective of improving conditions in their daily lives. These popular urban movements are linked to the political situation in Brazil and draw together key issues in local politics. Their action campaigns make use of rich imagery which attract the attention of residents, thus contributing to the creation, and the reinforcement, of the notion of citizenship in areas where these rights are not respected. The article analyses the ways in which these images, which may be generated by the Church as part of its pastoral mission or by the associations, are constructed, distributed and perceived. The emergence of a citizens' movement within these associative structures and the creation of a urban identity at the neighbourhood level bear witness to the efficacy of image use. This analysis also takes into account the way residents are perceived by the outsider, as developed and manipulated by the local press.

Addis-Abeba 2001: images, youth and gardens
At the beginning of 2001, a new organisation appeared in the arena of urban development relating to public areas in Addis-Abeba: the NGO Gaché Aberra Mola. According to the NGO's objectives, it intends to raise awareness among the local population and in particular among young people, for a cleaner more agreeable environment. The media have enthusiastically covered the NGO's activities and the young people in the city districts, particularly the most disadvantaged areas, have interpreted this appeal in their own way : cleaning up and reorganising public areas in their neighbourhoods, creating gardens and parks using their imagination and financial resources, demonstrating their ideas and messages with graphics and texts. They have also created a new and unusual urban visual artform, which, in their eyes, illustrates the values of dignity, good health and public hygiene, using a combination of graphics, script and organic materials. By analysing these events, we can improve our understanding of this new image of youth and compare it with those of past generations in Ethiopian society. At the same time, we can highlight its instrumentation as an interface between marginalized individuals and their society.

Images of Guyana, between réduction and compartmentalization This article focuses on the style and evolution of images of Guyana and Guyanans created over the last 150 years (illustrated accounts of travel or exploration, photographs, documentary films). The multicultural and multiethnic dimensions of the country are at the heart of this reflection. Images “scribed” first by colonisers, then by representatives of colonial administrations in overseas dominions, and those created and accepted by Guyanans provide evidence of very similar tendencies : reduction to a single element, representing local flora and fauna or a person, which are thus promoted to the level of a global representation ; almost total compartmentalization of these elements. But, depending on the period and the respective positions of the individuals in the photograph, it is difficult to say which images the Guyanans accept as a representation of themselves, and which are in fact a hyper or hypo-representation.

History as you have never seen it : a Nepalese film
In 1998, the first Nepalese film, Simarekha (The Frontier), scored a record run at the largest cinema in Kathmandu, attracting filmgoers for months. Taking a différent standpoint from that of history books, this film portrays how Hindu colonists took over the Gurkha principality, then governed by a tribal chief, during the 16th century. The article studies several versions of this key event in the country's history (chronicle, school textbook, theatre, novel) and analyses each version as a separate step in the process, culminating in its interpretation for the cinema. In the screen adaptation, events of the past are linked to more recent incidents, marked by violent ethnic demands. The film had a strong emotional impact on filmgoers who felt they were discovering a new truth about themselves and their past. By condensing the multiple narratives of a “multi-faceted” identity, these images allow each spectator to adjust the current context.

Image or its dissolution when organising the Japanese International Exhibition of 2005The organisation of the Japanese International Exhibition 2005 provides an opportunity to study, among other things, the process of creating images for a politically-orientated project. In this context, the article reviews the rhetorical and visual scenario developed by the Japanese architect responsible for the preliminary plans. According to this scenario which manipulates logistics and virtual imagery, the image of the traditional pavilion dissolves visually and transforms nature which acts as both background and theme for the exhibition into the subject by rendering the architecture invisible. As a tool for establishing both national and international support for the exhibition project, the article compares the architectural scenario with other visual arrangements, each of which constitutes a different system of argumentation.