One final space to explore: the confrontation with the image of a woman floating between two waters.

The powerful conditioning of the religion in which my mother inscribed her life eventually led her to end it—throwing herself into a winter well. For years, I carried that image within me, cell by cell, together with a deep anger toward what had driven her to such an act.

A decade ago, I envisioned a project to shed light on how the three main monotheistic religions shape women’s relationship with their bodies. When I sought dialogue with members of these communities, I received warnings that confirmed the continued pressure of religious authority. I set the project aside—until, three years ago, new images began to appear to me, awakening a creative and liberating process.

I owe much to Juliette, who was the first to step forward. She opened the way, inviting other women to join. What followed became a collective movement: a gathering of women reclaiming their power, releasing what had weighed on them, and discovering liberation through the experience.

In the water, the ego dissolves. With no reference points, no mask, no control, one becomes exposed—received simply as a being. In this space, women are witnessed not through desire, but through presence—a gaze that welcomes them as they are. Water, with its capacity to hold emotion, became an element of profound release: a living mirror that invited openness, surrender, and reconnection to the essence of their being.

For many, the sessions became moments of emotional awakening and reconnection to their innate power—through being seen, through feeling, through water’s gentle facilitation. It was in this environment that reconciliation began to unfold: with the body, with pain, with life itself.

Over time, it became clear that this project no longer belonged to me. It lives through each woman who chose to take part. What began as a personal healing became a collective act of transformation—an exploration of what can emerge when letting go, facilitated by water.

The works exhibited in this space were all created in the context of the broader project ‘Reconciliation’. They illustrate woman’s relationship to water, a true path to joy.

There is an underlying reference to the mermaid Mélusine, the myth of the Luxembourg mermaid, even in the last image which suggests her disappearance, leaving only a trace, a memory of her passage through the water.

The reading is twofold.

On the one hand, woman’s relationship to water. Moving from an anxious, uncomfortable feeling to a sensation of freedom and infinite joy.

On the other hand, the evolution of the photographic work. This philosophical journey moves from the dark side to light and colour in higher and higher frequencies so as to express the multiple forms of life.

Leina Sato’s video ‘HomeComing’ illustrates this metaphorical journey in a very simple and moving way, the crossing of an underwater landscape buffeted by the elements, stripped of all things to the point of blending into this oceanic immensity.

Although the project began in a natural environment, Covid-19 forced me to work in a pool. Making do with these limits – this shallow, reduced space and the white tiling – pushed me to be more creative. They made my relationship to light and colour evolve irreversibly.

The images shown in the first room echo the work on sharks – no flashes of light, no interaction with the sun’s rays. In the second room, I let myself be tamed by the omnipotence of this direct lighting and use it to structure the space and create a tension with the participants’ bodies.

The third part highlights the vibratory phenomena observed during the laughing, shouting and singing of the participants. I can’t thank Yaguel enough for having uttered this founding cry.

Although the design and images are my responsibility, this project would not have come into being without the exceptional contribution of Leina Sato, Aurélie Tournesol, Chloé Jacobs, Cécile Dury, Eve Lagrange, Emilie Grisard, Juliette Delgrange, Lina Vermeersch, Lou, C.M. , Sabrina Lê, Sandra Sun, Gabrielle Georges and Yaguel Agate. They all took part in a spontaneous approach. The texts you will hear during your visit are taken from their accounts and reveal the therapeutic dimension specific to each of them.

A huge thank you to Juliette Delgrange for her contribution and guidance throughout the project.

We wish you a wonderful immersion in this fantastic universe. One more step towards the source of all life, water.

Jean-Marie

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‘Réconciliation : la photographie nue et sous l’eau pour se redécouvrir ou mieux s’accepter’

BX1 television - October 2022

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