Photographer Gwenn Dubourthoumieu on capturing fragility of Congo Basin rainforest • FRANCE 24
now we’re going to meet a man in
perspective now who has really followed
his dream as a photographer and has well
used it as a way to ensure vital issues
receive more attention Gwen dubor thumu
began working for NOS in Africa before
beginning to work as a photographer now
manages to kind of combine the two at
the same time he works yes for companies
Architects interior designers and
decorators but also with ngos and un
agencies on a series very passionate
exciting projects and he joins us now on
thanks very much for coming in and
talking to us you started off didn’t you
in Africa um working for humanitarian
Nos and you kind of while you were there
became very passionate about the country
tell us about how all that
started um yeah uh basically I studied
humanitarian assistance at University in
France so
uh and uh my first mission was in
Somalia at that time I decided to buy my
first camera because I say well it’s not
I’m not going to somia without uh
bringing some souvenirs and uh I
developed a paion for photography but
also for uh telling stories through
images I believe I’m more uh confident
and better telling stories with picture
than with words uh and few years later
working still for NGO specialized in De
mining I had the opportunity
to work in different environment in EN
environment where not many people go
like uh Sudan North and South Sudan at
that time it was only one country and
the Democratic Republic of Congo and I
basically almost fall in love for this
country I found the country the people
and a history fascinating so I decided
to to settle down as a photographer uh
first based in the east in lubumbashi
and I quickly moved to Kinshasa I mean
it’s amazing isn’t it the way that uh
you didn’t set out to be a photographer
you sort of fell into it if you like and
then became such a passion for you yes
uh basically it became a p uh it’s a mix
passion
between taking photograph telling
stories and also uh traveling it’s very
linked to telling stories people uh uh
it’s basically a way
to fuel my curiosity for the world yeah
yeah I mean we’re looking at some of the
pictures which which you’ve taken over
the the years absolutely beautiful
pictures and it wasn’t long before you
started to get you know quite a lot of
international recognition for for the
pictures that you’ve taken yes uh
basically um maybe I was lucky enough uh
based in the in DRC I study to work on
different uh environmental and social uh
human right issues uh mainly I
documented the the work of some NGS and
the United Nation at the same time I
developed a story about uh Cobalt and uh
copper uh extraction in the in East
Congo which uh brought me some
recognition International recognition
yes yeah and let’s talk a little bit
about that um that uh project to do with
the copper extraction I mean it it sort
of you know highlighted a real issue
that you were able to highlight through
the photography yes uh that time I I
lived actually it was my very first
project as a
photographer uh I was living in
lubumbashi working for an NGO British
organization called mag mind Advisory
Group and
and the whole city it was like the
mining boom it was in 2008 and all the
corporation from the the world like the
US China but also India they all were
they were coming to lubumbashi and Ki
and to renew the extra extraction of
copper which was which has collapsed uh
in the ’90s uh in the ’90s the corer
extraction was
the was done by one state company called
Jamina which collapsed at the end of the
’90s uh because
of mass Mis uh management and also
because of the war and early 2000 the
World Bank decided
to open the the business to to
international corporation and I was
witnessing this and
basically it did not do only good for
for the people living in in lashi so I
decided uh because I was there to to
document that and a lot of pictures that
you’re taking looking through them as
well we saw at the beginning some of the
absolutely beautiful pictures of of the
wildlife but it’s not all about
beautiful pictures are there I mean you
do come across other things inevitably
when you’re in the middle of the forest
or whatever which are are quite
disturbing and and particularly pictures
of of animals as well so B you you’re
talking about my you’re talking about my
last project so last year I went back to
the cono to document the the cono Forest
uh because I read in the in the L
actually just about two years ago that
the Congo Forest be has become the the
biggest uh carbon sink in the world
after the ocean but before the Amazon
forest um because I spent so much time
in the Congo uh and I realized I didn’t
know this information I found it uh uh
more than interesting actually to go
back to the Congo and to document this
Forest which is actually the the very
last large tropical uh rainforest to
actually play its role as a carbon sink
and now it’s even turned into an
exhibition hasn’t it which is uh on at
the moment at se Po and it’s also been
featured in a big article in geom
magazine as well yes the article in GE
magazine that just was released two days
ago but before that uh we as say we
because I I did this uh reporting with
uh the journalist and writer Gom je uh
we actually I got many publication in in
the French media like LS Marian reported
different and the last was in J and yes
uh I wanted to also do an exhibition
especially in s po because the IDE is to
raise awareness uh on this on the fact
that the Congo Forest should should not
take the path of the Brazilian Forest is
still time now to protect the cono
forest and the exhibition Sho aims at uh
raise a wareness to the Future leader of
France and I’m hoping that uh I’ll have
more exhibition in uh different places
where people with uh uh can actually
take the decision with po can actually
uh know about it and look at the
pictures and react yeah why is it so
important to you that that the
photography does that as well I mean
it’s almost using photography to
influence politics I suppose yes exactly
but uh I as as you mentioned I started
working uh uh for Humanity and
organization so I guess I’m still a kind
of
militant
uh I’m not only for my personal project
uh I’m not as I said I’m not only taking
pictures uh uh I’m telling stories and
I’m trying to have a kind of polit
political
agenda uh beside that also do commercial
photography but my main aim is to
actually uh change Behavior raise
awareness through uh photography so
what’s the next project something else
on the agenda uh yes I have uh a book uh
is going to be published uh 17 of May
about uh lad so as in English will be
like the self segregation of the French
upper class mhm okay it’s a book uh
written in collaboration with the
sociologist Monique P Charlo okay well
keep going sounds like you’ve got a real
passion for it as well name of the book
is there you go if you speak French you
can pick up that book uh very very
shortly and the exibition is on at se po
uh for a couple of weeks still isn’t it
so yes until May the 12th great thank
you very much for coming in and talking
to us on the program today Gwen duorum
thanks very much
An internationally renowned photographer has spoken to FRANCE 24 about how he’s been able to use his profession to help support causes he’s become passionate about. Gwenn Dubourthoumieu began his professional life working for humanitarian NGOs in Africa. He soon developed a love for photography as he visited beautiful but often difficult places. He now considers himself a photographer activist. His latest project illustrates the state of the rainforest in DR Congo. He spoke to us in Perspective.
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