Acknowledgements
This project would not have been completed without the help and the participation of the fifty women, who generously accorded me their time and courageously opened themselves up to a unique experience that was in many ways transformative. Their words testify.
I am indebted to all those who challenged me with alternative views and who ultimately contributed to enrich the discourse.
Special thanks go to Franck Maindon and Claire Bras, professors at Ecole Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière, who helped and encouraged me in my research work and the early stages of the project; to my good friends Sandrine Donini and Pierre Marilly, who never hesitated to tell me when an idea doesn’t work - thank you for all the late-night debates; to my friend and filmmaker Jean-Marc Sanchez, who gave me tremendous help on the making-of video; to Robert Berman, for being the first gallerist to show this work while it was still unfinished; to Mark Pearson of Zen Foto Gallery, for standing behind this project; to my brilliant publisher Alex Scholtz, for being the visionary that he is and for suggesting to do this book; to his wife Babett Kissro, for her great support and coordination work; and to artist Susanne Weigelt, for her subtle artistry in book design.
Also to friends, family, colleagues, teachers, and mentors for their advice, support, and friendship,: Natacha Bavoil, Anita Raman, Corinne Cassini, Camille Evin, Maxime Lacolley, Naouel Mered, Myriam Eck, Christine Avignon, Chad Heltzel, Christian Mayaud, Céline Phillipot, Yann Layma, Christophe Dubois, Guillaume Gibout, Xu Qian, Jean-Marie Babonneau, Catherine Breillat, Didier de Faÿs, Ericka Weidman, Anne Biroleau-Lemagny, Stéphane Couturier, Jérome Auffret, Sophie Berville-Levy (M.D.), John Zorn, William Ropp, Bill Hunt, A.D. Coleman, Hana Jakrlova, Vladimir Zidlicky, Ahmet Kocabiyik, William Messer, Hossein Farmani, Jean-Christian Bourcart, Dewi Lewi, Gigi Giannuzzi & Hannah Watson, Simon Bainbridge, Chris Boots, Robert Blake, Gildas Launay, Wes Moore, Michel Philippot, Christian Gattinoni, Michel & Michelle, François Fontaine, Freddy Denaes, Marc D’Hauteville, Shan Sa, Zhang Zhang, Frank Baylé (M.D.), Benjamin Beller, Wen Fang, Isabelle Pascal, Olivier Allais, Gao Brothers, Chen Fei, Rajath Suri, Ilsa McBryde, Carissa Welton, Maki Inoue, Xiao Yanqun, Na Risong, Bao Kun, Hei Ming, Duan Yuting, Susanne Junker, Maya Kovskaya, Lauren Marsolier, Amanda Lo, Taka Ishii, Araki, and Julia Friedman. My apologies for some omissions in this list.
Finally, because this project is a revisit of an ancient theme - the matrix, the mother, and womanhood, I am grateful to all those in history who have dared to tread the perilous path before me. At times of daunting doubt, they made the task seem possible.
