Ça va aller, Joana Choumali's photography

Three weeks after the attacks, the atmosphere of the little town changed. A "saudade", some kind of melancholy invaded the town. I decided to wander the silent empty streets and I chose to leave my reflex behind and shoot with my iPhone instead: I did not want to intrude people’s intimacy and disrupt their morning. I didn’t feel like a photographer in that moment, detached by the place, as I myself felt part of the wounded inhabitants. Most of the pictures show empty places, and people by themselves, walking in the streets or just standing, sitting alone, lost in their thoughts.

In Côte d’Ivoire, people do not discuss their psychological issues, or feelings. A post-traumatic state is often considered as weakness or a mental disease. People hardly talk about their feelings, and each conversation is quickly shortened by a resigned "ça va aller". "Ça va aller" is a typical Ivorian expression which means "it will be ok", used for everything, even for situations that are not going to be ok. This work is a way to address the way Ivorian people deal with trauma and mental health. The attacks re-opened the mental wounds left by the post electoral war of 2011. Back home I felt the need to process this pain and I discovered that I could do so through embroidery.

Each stitch was a way to recover, to lie down the emotions, the loneliness, and mixed feelings I felt. As an automatic scripture, the act of adding colourful stitches on the pictures has had a soothing effect on me, like a meditation. Adding embroidery on these street photographs was an act of channeling hope and resilience.