BUTTERFLIES / CHAPTER 3

Butterflies is a long term and global project on mental illness

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 stigmatizations 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 terrorized 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 waiting in institutions or healing centers.