'The Girls of Kandi' explores how photography becomes a bridge between silence, culture, and resilience in northern Benin

By Noémie de Bellaigue

Hello Noémie, could you tell us a bit about where you come from and how your journey into photography began?

I grew up in a small town in Normandy, France, near the sea, which I left only for my studies in Paris and then for Lebanon, where I finished my master’s degree and started working for local newspapers. I’ve always been drawn to images. Observation has been my way of grasping what is around me and perhaps trying to find explanations for things I didn’t dare ask about. I’d say it became more serious starting in 2019, when I really embraced photography as a means of expression in which I felt more comfortable revealing the things that moved me. In parallel with my journalistic practice, I started to highlight people and journeys whose impact isn’t necessarily spoken aloud but lies in the way they navigate the world.

As a journalist, your work is deeply rooted in research and storytelling. Could you share how you approach the process of selecting a topic and transforming your research into a photography project?

So far, my topics have naturally imposed themselves through my encounters, inevitably following my curiosity. I have had ties with Lebanon and Benin in West Africa for many years, and these two countries have become my main areas of photographic work. I always question my place in relation to a particular theme I want to document, so it’s essential to build legitimacy. The research process therefore comes after and serves the subject I am highlighting. What I find deeply magical (and critical) about photography is the possibility of telling different stories through the same series. My instinctive approach is therefore grounded in vigilance.

The girls are getting ready together to go to church early on a Sunday morning, 2023

What first drew you toward documenting 'The Girls of Kandi' ? What kind of relationship did you foster with the girls while you worked on the theme? 

My mother has been involved in education in Benin since the early 2000s, supporting a small boarding school for girls in the north of the country. I accompanied her for the first time in 2016 and have been going there almost every year since. But it wasn’t until 2019 that I began documenting the girls’ daily lives, when I felt comfortable enough to do so after forming relationships with some of the students I saw year after year. I spent time with them, following their day from early morning until they returned from school and into the evening.

Even though French is the language of instruction, they feel more comfortable speaking their own dialects among themselves (which differ, as the girls come from different ethnic backgrounds). And that’s where the camera took on a special significance for me, as it did for them. It became our common language, the one in which they were willing to reveal themselves.

I also wanted to place these moments of intimacy in a context that reveals the importance of these places and the people who carry out these missions. The crisis in Sahel has been threatening regional security since 2019, and the closure of the border between Benin and Niger in 2023 has increased poverty, thus perpetuating barriers to education. I am currently working on a book based on this series with Éditions Polygone, to be published at the end of the year.

As someone with a strong background in literature, are there any books you would recommend that could help broaden one’s perspective and deepen their understanding of the world ?

I’d recommend Virginia Woolf’s The Waves (1931), in which she reinvents traditional storytelling. It’s like a play with six voices expressing themselves through soliloquies that span from childhood to old age, each with their own way of perceiving existence. The characters constantly question who they are, shaped and reshaped by their interactions and experiences. It shifts how you think about narration but also consciousness and time.

I’d also suggest Susan Sontag’s On Photography (1977), a collection of essays that challenges how we consume images. Sontag explores photography’s complex role in shaping reality and memory, revealing how images can both document suffering and numb us to it. It’s an essential read for anyone engaging with visual storytelling, making you conscious of the complexity of photography, its power and limits. Her critique feels especially urgent today: we’ve been consuming images of Israel’s war in Gaza for over two years now, overinformed yet paralyzed, caught in the very paradox she warned about.

Is there a particular moment or experience while documenting 'The Girls of Kandi' that has left a lasting impact on you as a photographer?

Cofia on her bed in the dorm, 2021

I was undoubtedly moved by many small moments in their daily lives as teenagers, because of their universal resonance. Hairstyles are one of them. Hair is a space for sharing, transmission, and affection. Hair transcends differences. In general, moments of togetherness between the girls are very powerful, noticeably when cooking, studying, or at the end of the day, when they’re all gathered in front of their dorms. But what is even more powerful are the moments of solitude. My photos bear witness to this; they tell the story of the search for self within community life and during the decisive period of adolescence. 

What I keep with me from that experience is the importance of being close enough from my subject, physically and emotionally.

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About Noémie de Bellaigue

Noémie de Bellaigue is a journalist and photographer based in Berlin. She studied modern literature in Paris and journalism in Beirut, where she worked for French and local media outlets. Her work is inspired by the stories of individuals whose commitment to their convictions shapes her approach to writing and photography.

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