Christophe Gin

Christophe Gin spent five months exploring the landscapes of Guiana, from border regions to the most remote Amerindian villages, where the local population mingle with soldiers, gold prospectors, and exploited immigrant workers. His photography bears witness to the reality of life in a land full of contrasts, far from the caricatures often presented through the mainstream press.
»Guiana is France's most vast region, in which the Guiana Space Center co-exists with an immense area of forest. In principle, this part of the Republic is subject to the same laws as those of the metropolis. However, a combination of factors (an uncontrollable equatorial forest, a gold rush descending into the tropical Far-West, foreign nationals reduced to criminality, and an American-Indian population forced to adapt to a system of republicanism) transform this part of the Republic into a place of lawlessness. After having worked in the region for the past fifteen years, I see Guiana more like a mosaic of exceptional places, often governed by codes and laws that are right for them.«
Christophe Gin (b. 1965), a self-taught photographer, started his career in the early 1990s. His work has been the subject of numerous international exhibitions.