Discover religious history in the restored cells of the Paul Eluard Museum of Art and History, which provides an exceptional insight into the workings of one of France's oldest monastic orders.
Hélène Mastrandréas is interested in minorities, disabilities, and alternative lifestyles, with a desire to capture the intimate. She enjoys subverting the codes of a femininity that is often stereotyped, particularly by social media.
A new territory opened up to her when, two years ago, she met P., a long-lost friend, now a recluse in a Carmelite convent. Intrigued by this lifestyle choice, she decided to meet her again and immersed herself in her daily life for a few days to document it in images. Observe, understand, and tell. Her photographs capture ritual objects, spaces, and moments of prayer as much as the community itself. She seeks to reveal the state of grace that inhabits these women, carried by a light that is by turns soft, vibrant, or dazzling.
A new territory opened up to her when, two years ago, she met P., a long-lost friend, now a recluse in a Carmelite convent. Intrigued by this lifestyle choice, she decided to meet her again and immersed herself in her daily life for a few days to document it in images. Observe, understand, and tell. Her photographs capture ritual objects, spaces, and moments of prayer as much as the community itself. She seeks to reveal the state of grace that inhabits these women, carried by a light that is by turns soft, vibrant, or dazzling.
