Bassin du Congo : Arnaud De Grave à la conférence ATBC


Ethno-photographie des sciences environnementales: favoriser latransdisciplinarité à travers la photographie dans les forêts du bassin du Congo.
Cette exposition, présentée à la conférence ATBC au Corum de Montpellier du 20 au 23 juin 2016 (16h-18h30), est le fruit d’une collaboration entre le photographe Arnaud De Grave (Ecopalimpsest.com // Agence Le Pictorium) et le projet scientifique CoForTips du CIRAD. Elle a pour volonté de faire le lien entre les scientifiques, les habitants des forêts du bassin du Congo (ici au sud-est du Cameroun) et l’audience en jouant sur les valeurs transmises par les images dans et hors contexte. Le contenu des
photographies, prises en collaboration avec les villageois, a en effet été évalué par le photographe et les chercheurs en action sur les sites afin de juger si elles véhiculent des valeurs positives ou négatives, consensuelles ou non. Le choix des images et de la scénographie (noir et blanc argentique, simples ou en diptyques, positionnement de l’accrochage, pas de titre…) suivent cette évaluation. L’audience est invitée à juger à son tour ces images selon les mêmes critères et les résultats seront partagés lors d’une présentation durant le dernier jour de la conférence. Un diaporama en couleur montre d’autres points de vue sur le projet, les collaborations et le travail des scientifiques sur les sites autour du village de Mindourou, Cameroun.
Dr. Arnaud De Grave (Ecopalimpsest.com // Agence Le Pictorium) en collaboration avec Dr. Juliette Chamagne (ForDev // CIRAD) et Dr. Claude Garcia, (ETH ForDev // CIRAD)

Cameroun/CoForTips exhibition @ ATBC 2016


Abstract:
Ethnophotography of Sciences: using photography to foster transdisciplinarity in the forest landscapes of Cameroon.The future of the forests of Central Africa is constrained by land use decisions and the responseof the socio-ecosystems to global change. The purpose of the CoForTips project is to promote better management of the forests of the Congo Basin, by fostering dialogue between stakeholders. We seek to develop a framework for transdisciplinarity, for collaboration between social and natural sciences, between stakeholders and researchers. How to shift from a collection of fragmentary perceptions of the system to a comprehensive and broad understanding of the multiple perspectives held by each stakeholder?
 
Alongside other forms of classical research and engagement – interviews, participant observation, participatory modelling – we propose one additional way to foster transdisciplinarity. We have called this approach ethnophotography of sciences. At the core, it uses photography as a medium to confront the perceptions of researchers and stakeholders. It associates long stays in the field, an unconditional positive attitude derived from the field of facilitation, and observant participation. Coupled to the workshops of participatory modeling, the photographer documents the daily life and work of the inhabitants, the researchers in the field and their interactions with locals, and integrates their visions and perceptions of the landscape, its resources and actors in the shooting process. This is done through discussion with the “models” about the way they want to be portrayed, instant photography for quick feedback and pre-exhibition editing evaluation in collaboration with researchers in Europe and on site.
 
What we propose here is not a talk or a poster, but an exhibition, made of diptychs, with a different take on moments of life as it is experienced in the villages around Mindourou, Cameroon, one of the study sites of the CoForTips project. Each picture, each diptych and the entire set can be understood as boundary objects, bringing the gap between stakeholders and academics.
 
Our aim is to spark a discussion between an audience used to watch these systems through the lenses of the academia, and that of the villagers, who shaped the way in which they were represented by the photographer.