Phoenix

Wet collodion is composed, among other things, of two main elements, Cooper collodion and silver nitrate. Separately, they are both used in medicine, for wound healing. Together, these two elements form a sensitive photographic emulsion similar to a thin skin spread on a glass plate. This film dries little by little from the preparation for the shooting, until the end of the development of the photograph. It eventually hardens, shrinks, sometimes cracks and often changes color. The parallel between this texture and that of the healed skin of severe burn victims being obvious, I decided to use wet collodion to treat this subject. "To be a major burn victim is to learn to live with a scarred, repaired, dented body, a body that every day will remind us of the day when everything changed." -Clelia Lebreton Human beings are embarrassed by difference. Sharing, showing, is breaking silences that make you uncomfortable. Because what hurts is the gaze of others, ignorance. These photographs are a message of tolerance and hope for all people who are forced to live with their marks.