Claire Chevrier's Photographic Gaze on Institutional Life

Claire Chevrier's series "Espaces traversés," produced between 2018 and 2020, captures life in specialized institutions for people with physical and mental disabilities, including the Centre thérapeutique et de recherche in Nonette, the Fondation John-Bost in La Force, and the Centre hospitalier spécialisé de Chezal-Benoît. The work, published as a book by Loco, accompanies an exhibition at the Espace d'art contemporain de La Roche-sur-Yon that was closed to the public due to the pandemic. Chevrier's photographs focus on the subtle interactions between patients, caregivers, and their environments, avoiding a purely descriptive approach. The book is organized not by location but by types of spaces and moments, with minimal captions that resemble codes. A sequence shows a theater workshop where a young man's frozen body comes to life, and a face appears through the branches of a newly planted tree. The series exemplifies the vitality of French documentary photography, as noted in the context of the Bleu du ciel center's anniversary publication. Texts by Fabrice Bourlez and Audrey Illouz accompany the 144-page volume, priced at 30 euros.