The project “FACES” is a photographic project whose first two experiments took place between January and April 2018 in Calcutta (India) then in Yangon (Burma).
Mechua Market (Mecchua) is a real open-air portrait gallery. A photographer’s dream. Here, just ask with a smile to make a portrait. The Indians are not complicated, they respond with the same smile and often it is then a whole group of sellers and carriers of the corner of the market who wants to be photographed! So sometimes the difficulty is to leave to gain another corner without being able to answer all the requests.
When one does not speak Bengali, one must be able to read through the smiles and the intense glances of the Indians of this market. Many fruit basket holders had to emigrate from Bihar, a state in north-eastern India, neighboring Nepal, to find work.
In some markets whose activity is permanent the carriers take turns sleeping right next to the trucks that unload their goods 24/24. This work of carriers is exhausting, the filled baskets carried on the head with a cushion between the basket and the head must weigh more than forty kilos. Those in the Kolay market must weigh a few hundred kilos.
By dint of returning every day for a week on the market place, I ended up being “known” to some who call me during my stay. When we travel several days in this market we do not go unnoticed!

Face Project – Calcutta – Part 2
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