I will be Queen

Last summer, while strolling through a flea market, I came across this treasure: carte de visite portraits, the kind that made many photographers' fortunes in the second half of the 19th century, particularly in France. The photographs of women and little girls particularly struck me. Their discipline in front of the photographer is striking; everything is controlled and mastered: the postures, the hair, the carefully draped clothes, the tightly corseted waists, and the stiffness of the staging. The 19th century was particularly restrictive for women in France. Yet, in their gaze, I seemed to catch something else, a contradiction, an underlying desire to escape this domination, or a silent dream of a freer elsewhere. To their silent indignation, their inner revolt, their secret hopes, I wanted to give a voice