Hématomes

Laurent Gélise spent a year carrying out a reporting project on the premises of and amongst the staff at the CPAS on Place Saint-Jacques in Liège. Moving from office to office, he photographed the everyday presence, the bodies, the surroundings and the moments of respite of those who work there. This unusual approach to addressing issues of social welfare allows him to avoid any sensationalism or melodrama, without, however, sidestepping the heart of the matter. Through the portraits of these focused individuals, through the images of their cluttered desks, their files piled high or scattered about, the family photos placed beside the screen, the windows and the potted plants, the project explores the humanity—both present and absent—within these institutions that are fundamental to the survival of society. It also highlights bureaucracy as a system that overrides individuals, and the invisible neoliberalism that devours the financial and human resources of these ‘last-chance’ places. Above all – one hopes – it is a patient and dedicated human resistance, striving to achieve justice beyond the rhetoric of austerity and sweeping judgements, which, on a case-by-case basis, attempts to salvage what it can.

This book, numbered and signed, serves as a record of this reportage.