Renée and her husband, Roland Colin, a colonial administrator, were both convinced they were experiencing the final throes of French domination and the beginnings of independence. They learned the language and travelled from village to village. Roland took notes (not very administrative) to deepen his knowledge of Senufo culture, and Renée took photos of the trust shared with the people. Her heartfelt photographs had no ethnological intent and provide information about a universe of forms now declining, if not disappearing, all over the world.
In Africa, Renée Colin-Noguès belonged to the often anonymous and unrecognised white photographers of everyday life who did not set out to produce sensational reports or “steal images”. Colonial and atypical personalities, like Pierre Verger or Anita Conti, they are a facet of the historical exchange which leaves a long-lasting impression on the peoples who welcome them.
Revue Noire Editions are keen to reveal the gaze of these “different Westerners”, in the same way they have revealed hundreds of African photographers, to help construct another image of the “other”, an “other us”.
by Jean Loup Pivin
Editors Jean Loup Pivin, Roland Colin, Pascal Martin Saint Leon
140 B&W photographs by Renée Colin-Noguès
Foreword by Adame Ba Konaré
Texts by Roland Colin and Moussa Sow
Hardcover book of 160 pages 24×32 cm
Published in 2006
In French and English
ISBN 2 909571 645 - EAN 978 2 909571 645
Few pages from the book 'Senufo in Mali' :
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