Grace à Dieu, Sa Ira Maman (Thank God, Everything Will Be Alright Mother)

Grace à Dieu, Sa Ira Maman (Thank God, Everything Will Be Alright Mother), is a conceptual photographic essay, aiming to unveil the invisibility of the cocoa community in Ivory Coast. In this series, mystical night photography is accompanied by a narration created by the inhabitants of the village of Amanikro, through the writings, drawings and proverbs which cover the walls of the village homes, revealing a community rooted in family ties, religious, and artistic expression.

Grace à Dieu, Sa Ira Maman (Thank God, Everything Will Be Alright Mother), is a conceptual photographic essay, aiming to unveil the invisibility of the cocoa community in Ivory Coast. In this series, mystical night photography is accompanied by a narration created by the inhabitants of the village of Amanikro, through the writings, drawings and proverbs which cover the walls of the village homes, revealing a community rooted in family ties, religious, and artistic expression.

Once the sun sets and an intense darkness envelops the small village of Amanikro, the life and true nature of cocoa producers appear more clearly. Men and women return from a long, hard day spent in their fields, and it is as if their day is only just beginning. Families gather to discuss the day's harvest, young children revise their schoolwork under the moonlight, and the entire village unites to have dinner in front of their humble homes, ending the evening dancing to joyous Ivorian music until the late hours.

This series presents a poetic interpretation of the lives of the villagers of Amanikro, through a window framed by darkness. The artist decides to extend a curious look beyond what we see in the mainstream media about cocoa producers, the roots of this global production, to try to reveal the more intimate moments experienced by the villagers, moments that ironically become more visible all light fades and night falls. With the help of a flash, the artist sets out to discover mysterious shadows and silhouettes, and interweaves this with the abstract and at times very discreet writings and drawings, which are scattered across the village walls, and which reveal the imperceptible riches of the village of Amanikro: the centrality of religion, a close-knit community, and a creative expression that tells stories of hopes, fears and the joys experienced by cocoa producers in Amanikro.