2 MISSISSIPPI

I dreamed of America. Of arriving in New York by sea and becoming a millionaire. Instead of my little circles, I wanted to make a big line. To leave. To cross an ocean. To travel slowly, to take photos slowly. To slow down time to appreciate its hidden contours.

From port to port, to pass the time and eat better, I took photos. It satisfied my need for social interaction while feeding that compulsive desire to capture others in portraits. The time it takes to count to two Mississippi, and it was in the box. A new face in my collection, a new photo to be given as a gift—to a lover, to a mother. One that would take pride of place on a sideboard, or be forgotten. Folded up, slipped into a pocket, torn to shreds right before my eyes. I scatter images.

More than a year and a half later, when I arrived in the United States, it was winter. Legions of homeless people were migrating south to its milder climate. So I put my dreams of grandeur aside and curled up in the gentle warmth of New Orleans.

These images are the result of a journey undertaken between 2016 and 2018, which took me from Douarnenez to Aber Wrac’h, via Iquitos, Bogotá, New Orleans, Recife, and a thousand other stops.

A book compiling these photographs was published by Le Mulet under the title 2 MISSISSIPPI.