Helene Amouzou’s – Voyages
Hélène Amouzou’s inaugural solo exhibition in the UK unveils her evocative self-portraits, capturing her journey as a migrant grappling with notions of freedom, exclusion, and bureaucracy. Through her work, she seeks to recapture her identity and sense of belonging, prompting questions about refuge, belonging, and liminality.
Over a span of fifteen years, Amouzou’s photography delves into the depths of displacement and exile, using long exposures and distinctive imagery to convey complex emotions. Self-portraiture, she explains, allows her to reveal the deepest parts of herself.
“Voyages” features “Autoportrait – Molenbeek” (2007-2011), created during Amouzou’s asylum-seeking period in Belgium. These charged portraits depict her amidst suitcases and dilapidated surroundings, symbolizing the precariousness of displacement. Suitcases, a recurring motif, serve as a stark reminder of the plight faced by countless migrants worldwide.
Accompanying these earlier works is “Entre temps, Togo” (2020-2021), capturing Amouzou’s poignant return to her homeland after more than a quarter-century. Through elongated movements and extended exposures, her photographs confront themes of belonging and unbelonging, locating and dislocating, while resisting erasure.
Hélène Amouzou, born in Togo in 1969, has gained recognition for her autoportraits shedding light on contemporary issues of exile and invisibility. Drawing on her experiences of migration and displacement, her artwork employs highly technical analogue processes, contributing to her ongoing exploration of identity and belonging in a globalized world.
