Elena Perlino carried out Indian Time during four visits to the Québec-Labrador border. Her photo series runs through the Innu and Naskapi communities, between Natashquan, Mani-Utenam, Matimekosh-Lac-John, Kawawachikamach and Sheshatshiu. She traveled through these spaces and these singular times – marked by ritual, by the passing of traditions, and by day-to-day life – so that we may enter into “nordicity,” and come as close as possible to those who inhabit it. Indian Time sets off to encounter landscapes and human stories that reveal the chaotic traces left by a recent history of Québec, like the mining companies carrying out operations in Schefferville. Each image invites us to revisit the established order and to follow along with the artist’s sensitive gaze, above and beyond a documentary vision.
The project was undertaken in the context of Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie in 2017 with the support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Montreal, and will take the form of a book and a traveling exhibition in a part of North America (Montreal, Matimekush/Schefferville) and in Europe. It is being presented in Gespeg so that the historical and essential links between the Innu and Naskapi communities and the Mi’gmaq of Gespeg may endure and be strengthened.
Elena Perlino a réalisé « Indian Time » lors de plusieurs séjours à la frontière du Québec et du Labrador. Sa série de photographies se déploie dans les communautés innues et naskapies, entre Natashquan, Mani-Utenam, Matimékush-Lac-John, Kawawachikamach et Sheshatshiu, « à la rencontre de paysages et de récits humains qui révèlent les traces chaotiques laissées par une histoire récente du Québec”. (Claire Moeder pour les Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie).
“Ces récits rappellent entre autres que au-delà de la dépossession, une force vitale persiste dans le rapport que ces communautés entretiennent avec la terre, la langue et l’histoire de leurs ancêtres constamment menacées par des gestes d’effacement d’une violence inexcusable” (Mirna Boyadjian).
Le projet a été réalisé dans le cadre des résidences d’artistes des Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie, avec le soutien de l’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Montréal. Le travail a pris la forme d’une exposition itinérante en Amérique du Nord et en Europe. Il a été présenté à Gespeg, ensuite à Schefferville, chez les Innus et à la Maison de la Culture Plateau Mont-Royal à Montréal en novembre 2018. Il a fait l’objet à l’automne 2019 d’une exposition publique à Paris à l’INALCO (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales) pendant l’année des peuples et des langues autochtones (décision ONU et UNESCO). Grâce au soutien du Cnap, Elena Perlino a pu retourner en 2019 dans le Nord du Québec pour explorer la dimension des violences faites aux femmes. La publication du livre « Indian Time » est prévue pour septembre 2021.
Sheshatshit, 2017
Schefferville, 2017
Matimekush Lac-John, 2017
Matimekush Lac-John, 2017
Sheshatshit, 2017
Matimekush Lac-John, 2017
Matimekush Lac-John, 2017
The Goutte d’Or is one of the vibrant districts in Paris, a small area of some 30,000 residents characterized by a multiethnic mix. Perlino got to experience and share the day-to-day existence of the inhabitants of the Goutte d’Or, as close to them as possible – in the public sphere but in the private one as well. From home to mosque, from hidden corners to small businesses of every stripe, from weddings to large-scale religious gatherings. She’s turned out a remarkable document after the more than five years of her immersion.
Éditions Loco
With the support of Centre national arts plastiques and FSIH.
Paris, 2014
Paris, 2016
Paris, 2014
Paris, 2015
Paris, 2016
Paris, 2015
Paris, 2016
Paris, 2015
2013-2016
The photographic documentation started to explore the large variety of Islam present in Italy: Muslims from Balkan, Asian and Arab/African origin. The research aims to visually explore the complex dialogue between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in the Italian context, with the ultimate goal of reflecting on the perceptions that create prejudice and intolerance. Using photography as a vehicle, combined with sociology and journalism, the project intends to reach a wider audience and a higher degree of awareness.
With the support of Open Society Foundations and lettera27.
Turin, Italy, 2016
Vasto, Italy, 2016
Riace, Italy, 2013
Bologna, Italy, 2016
Mazara del Vallo, Italy, 2016
Bologna, Italy, 2017
Turin, Italy, 2016
Bologna, Italy, 2016
Turin, Italy, 2017
Bologna, Italy, 2017
Bologna, Italy, 2017
Bologna, Italy, 2016
Bologna, Italy, 2017
Bologna, Italy, 2017
2005 – 2012
Human trafficking to Italy
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has declared Nigeria among the top eight countries with the highest human trafficking rates in the world. Italy is an important destination and transit country for women trafficked internationally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation.
I have been working on this topic for many years, focusing mainly on the Italian connection. The attempt was to show the complexities and contradictions of women’s experiences and to document their daily life in Turin, Genoa, Rome, Naples and Palermo.
By collecting stories of women from Benin City (Edo State) – where around 80% of trafficked women come from – the reportage bears witness to the multiple reasons behind women’s forced or voluntary migration.
“Elena Perlino has succeeded in telling a breathtaking story with elegance; this book became thus a harsh yet touching portrait of one of Europe’s most horrific daily scenes”.
Schilt Publishing
With the support of Open Society Foundations and Magnum Emergency Fund.
Turin, Italy, 2012
Turin, Italy, 2012
Naples, Italy, 2012
Turin, Italy, 2012
Turin, Italy, 2012
Naples, Italy, 2012
Naples, Italy, 2012
Turin, Italy, 2005
2011
Just before the overthrowing of President Mubarak, in early 2011 Elena Perlino portrayed the everyday side of Cairo, depicting a metropolis suspended between beauty and decadence. "There was a feeling of anticipation, almost suspense late january, just before the main demonstration in Tahrir Square broke out. There were truckloads full of young policemen in riot gear, checkpoints and metal detectors all over the place. Tension was increasing, people were more wary about being photographed. I’m not a conflict photographer so I didn’t do anything differently from how I normally would. I tried to describe the everyday side of the city, from the Islamic historic center to the Bourse Neighborhood, the residential areas of Zamalek, the Khan el Khalili bazaar as well as the Garden City, Heliopolis, Downtown, Garbage City and the surreal City of the Dead". ( Interview - Francesca Esposito for Domusweb)
Cairo, Egypt, 2011
Cairo, Egypt, 2011
Cairo, Egypt, 2011
Cairo, Egypt, 2011
Cairo, Egypt, 2011
Cairo, Egypt, 2011
Cairo, Egypt, 2011
Cairo, Egypt, 2011
2006-2007
The projet was realized in Lyon Perrache, in the south of Lyon, between 2006 and 2007. Prostitution has always taken place here. More than 200 vans spread out all over the neighborhood serve as home.
With the new préfet Jacques Gerault life changed in a few weeks. "No
more prostitution" has been declared in order to renovate the huge
industrial area, close to Highway A7 and creating a second Lyon city-centre by 2030.
Avec le soutien de “Le Septembre de la photographie”.
Lyon, France, 2007
Lyon, France, 2006
Lyon, France, 2006
Lyon, France, 2006
Lyon, France, 2006
Lyon, France, 2006
Lyon, France, 2006
Lyon, France, 2007
Lyon, France, 2006