Steve Mc CURRY
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French
L’Afghanistan a longtemps été un territoire meurtri par les rivalités tribales, les guerres de décolonisation et les conflits géopolitiques. Ce «pays de la rébellion», comme le surnomment ses habitants, n’a jamais réellement été occupé depuis l’époque d’Alexandre le Grand. Si ses envahisseurs — perses, arabes, moghols, sikhs, britanniques ou russes — ont échoué à le maîtriser, il suffit de se promener à travers les bazars de Kaboul pour percevoir leur héritage. On trouve en effet, parmi les populations d’Afghanistan, une multitude de gènes ethniques qui se sont mêlés au fil du temps.Dans la société afghane, les division sont profondes, entre le schisme entre sunnites et chiites, la violence endémique qui touche clans et tribus et les haines et vengeances entre familles. C’est pourtant au milieu du chaos, au cœur de combats interminables, que sont nées des images époustouflantes.Pour cette rétrospective ultime de son travail en Afghanistan, Steve McCurry a sélectionné plus de 140 photographies saisissantes qui révèlent un peuple fier et tourmenté, rencontré au désert de Kandahar, croisé dans les rues de Kaboul ou au fin fond des rivières du Nouristan. Pendant près de 40 ans, Steve McCurry a sillonné l’Afghanistan à maintes reprises, immortalisant ces habitants avec une humanité rare et touchante. Son célèbre portrait de la Jeune Afghane fut repris sur la couverture d’innombrables magazines dans le monde depuis 1984, trouble autant qu’il fascine par son extraordinaire grâce et sa dignité. Composé comme un tableau, il est aussi intemporel que les autres clichés de McCurry, qualités intattendues quand on sait qu’il fut pris dans une région en pleine guerre.Steve McCurry a toujours fait face aux dangers inhérents à la vie «de terrain» des photographes. Il s’est souvent aventuré au-delà des lignes en prenant de gros risques, comme lors de son premier voyage en Afghanistan, en 1979, durant lequel il dut revêtir l’habit afghan pour traverser clandestinement la frontière avec le Pakistan. Cette route périlleuse, au cœur d’un territoire hostile, imprévisible, contrôlé tour à tour par les moudjahidin, les Russes et les talibans, McCurry l’a arpentée bien des fois.
Afghanistan has long been a country overwhelmed by tribal rivalries, colonial wars, and geo-political conflict. The Afghans have called their mountains “the land of rebellion,” a land that has not been successfully occupied since the times of Alexander the Great. These invaders — Persians, Arabs, Moguls, Sikhs, British, Russians — may have been thwarted, but wandering through the bazaars of Kabul will attest to their legacy. In the people of Afghanistan, the genes of countless races meet and intermingle.Deep are the fissures in Afghan society; the schism between Sunni and Shia, the endemic violence across clans and tribes, and the blood feuds and rivalries within lineages. Yet born of such chaos and entrenched conflict are these most breathtaking of images.In this definitive retrospective of his work in Afghanistan, Steve McCurry has curated over 140 gripping images to present a torn, proud people, from the desert of Kandahar to the streets of Kabul and remote rivers of Nuristan. For almost four decades, McCurry traveled to the country regularly, documenting its people with a rare and disarming humanity. His most striking portrait Afghan Girl (1984) has graced the covers of magazines around the world, in equal parts haunting and evoking remarkable grace and dignity. In common with so much of McCurry’s work, it has a timeless, painterly quality—entirely at odds with the troubled region in which it was taken.McCurry has always been subjected to dangers that are an inevitable part of life “on the road” for photographers. He often ventured behind the lines, usually at great risk. His first trip to Afghanistan in 1979 involved him dressing in Afghan garb in order to be smuggled across the border from Pakistan. That journey into the treacherous, unpredictable landscape — territory controlled at various times by the Mujahideen, the Russians, and the Taliban — was one that McCurry would make numerous times. Many other photographers would follow in his footsteps.
Afghanistan has long been a country overwhelmed by tribal rivalries, colonial wars, and geo-political conflict. The Afghans have called their mountains “the land of rebellion,” a land that has not been successfully occupied since the times of Alexander the Great. These invaders — Persians, Arabs, Moguls, Sikhs, British, Russians — may have been thwarted, but wandering through the bazaars of Kabul will attest to their legacy. In the people of Afghanistan, the genes of countless races meet and intermingle.Deep are the fissures in Afghan society; the schism between Sunni and Shia, the endemic violence across clans and tribes, and the blood feuds and rivalries within lineages. Yet born of such chaos and entrenched conflict are these most breathtaking of images.In this definitive retrospective of his work in Afghanistan, Steve McCurry has curated over 140 gripping images to present a torn, proud people, from the desert of Kandahar to the streets of Kabul and remote rivers of Nuristan. For almost four decades, McCurry traveled to the country regularly, documenting its people with a rare and disarming humanity. His most striking portrait Afghan Girl (1984) has graced the covers of magazines around the world, in equal parts haunting and evoking remarkable grace and dignity. In common with so much of McCurry’s work, it has a timeless, painterly quality—entirely at odds with the troubled region in which it was taken.McCurry has always been subjected to dangers that are an inevitable part of life “on the road” for photographers. He often ventured behind the lines, usually at great risk. His first trip to Afghanistan in 1979 involved him dressing in Afghan garb in order to be smuggled across the border from Pakistan. That journey into the treacherous, unpredictable landscape — territory controlled at various times by the Mujahideen, the Russians, and the Taliban — was one that McCurry would make numerous times. Many other photographers would follow in his footsteps.
