Scarlett Coten
French
Mectoub
Mectoub
‘My ongoing project, ‘Mectoub’, focuses on men from Arab and Mediterranean countries, particularly the young urban generation. who have been demanding more freedom since the Arab Spring. This series questions the notion of identity in complex societies, in which the question of individual freedom, genre and sexuality are the origin of massive political, economic and social change.
In countries where freedom is hidden, exposing oneself is an act of rebellion. In my role as a female foreigner, I challenge them to be as real as possible, offering them the opportunity to turn conventions upside down. From these regions, which are always in the glare of the media spotlight, we see images of men caught up in violent current events, we rarely see them in a more confidential light. In choosing as my subject matter single young men with a desire to transcend the limits of their day jobs and restrictive social mores, I want to explore the demographic tensions underlying the Arab Spring by taking you away from the tumult and despair of the front lines to intimate spots where a young Arab man can play out some of his fantasies. The camera gives me the power to approach strangers.’
‘Mectoub’ is an intimate documentary in which the dialogue between portraits and décors creates a heightened reality and allows the viewer to see these regions of the world through the prism of my own subjectivity. In 2012, I set off on this adventure, first in the cities of Morocco, then in 2013 in Egypt and in 2014 in Palestine and Algeria.
Scarlett Coten
Scarlett Coten is an independent French female photographer. She lives in Paris and works in North Africa and the Middle East. After studying photography at the ENSP in Arles, she regularly publish in national and international press.
In 2000, Coten achieved her first photographic series in the Sinai desert. Her full immersion in the Bedouin society, during almost 3 years, and her attachment for the people and their story, give her work a unique and remarkable intimacy. In 2004 it was awarded the Humanity Photo Award in Beijing, China, and in 2009 nominated at the NYPH Festival in the Book category.
In 2000, Coten achieved her first photographic series in the Sinai desert. Her full immersion in the Bedouin society, during almost 3 years, and her attachment for the people and their story, give her work a unique and remarkable intimacy. In 2004 it was awarded the Humanity Photo Award in Beijing, China, and in 2009 nominated at the NYPH Festival in the Book category.
Since 2012, Scarlett Coten captures men in Morocco, Egypt, Palestine and Algeria, particularly the young urban generation who, since 2011, not only demand more individual freedom, but expose themselves in the intimacy of a face to face, and challenge the western world vision we have of the Arab man.
