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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2011)
Street roots Sept 30,2011 Capturing child birth on camera BY SANDRA MATHIEU STREET NEWS SERVICE rench photographer Thierry Quenette is on. an extraordinary mission: to photograph women giving birth around the world. He set up a foundation to expose, and improye, the harsh conditions in which so many babies are born. To express himself through his photography; to uncover great beauty or perhaps reveal thé ugliness of mankind; to change the world in his own way; these are women across the world die as a result of the goals Thierry Quenette sets himself pregnancy- and birth-related complications. every day. These deaths are due to both a shortage of The French photographer, who is based hospitals in the regions in question and the in Montreal, recently created the Naitre high cost of obstetric care for populations dans le Monde (Born into the World) with an extremely low income. “The right to give birth should not be a privilege reserved to those living in rich "The right to give birth should not be a countries, but should be accessible to all. It privilege reserved to those living in rich should not depend on the financial countries" resources of women and their families. If — THIERRY QUENETTE giving birth really is a right, then it is our PHOTOGRAPHER, NAITRE DANS LE MONDE duty to fight for it to be recognized worldwide,” insists the photographer, his passion ringing clearly in his voice. His Foundation. His plan is to travel extensively, French accent shows traces of the 20 years to places as varied as Hungary, Senegal and he has spent in Quebec. Morocco, with the aim of capturing the With a worldly wisdom that sets him many different aspects of our first apart, and a spark.of intensity in his piercing experience in life: birth. blue eyes, Thierry Quenette describes one As he photographs unsanitary hospital of his experiences: conditions and school desks pushed “The baby is just bom. He is blue. The together to create a makeshift hospital bed, new mum seems to have lost consciousness. the artist uncovers an uncomfortable truth My lens is fixed on the rusty retractors and about the quality of health care provided to the midwife’s worn surgical gloves. I am women in different countries. The crouched in a corner of the room; I try to photographer hopes that he will thus help make myself invisible. Should I put away my to improve conditions in countries in which Canon? Or should I continue to photograph childbirth still poses a real risk to the lives the birth... or the death?” of both the mother and the newborn child. The Naitre dans le Monde Foundation Every year, more than half a million informs and raises awareness among the B general population, universities, companies and influential leaders through conferences, traveling exhibitions, information sessions and joint projects. Donations made to the foundation go. towards providing health centers and hospitals with much-needed basic medical supplies and equipment This equipment, which includes gloves, speculums, stethoscopes and non-perishable medicines, is distributed by local nonprofit organizations and helps to prevent the spread of illnesses and infections both during and after childbirth. It’s all go for Thierry Quenette. Recently he organized a photography exhibition in Montreal’s Bain Mathieu and a charity cabaret evening in the town’s Theatre Plaza, and he is preparing his next trip to Senegal in October. The aim of this trip will be to. supply medical equipment and to sign distribution agreements with local organizations. Moreover, in the long term, he is entertaining the idea of writing a book and he hopes to visit about 10 more countries m the meantime. Follow his progress and find out more about the foundation’s upcoming events at www.fndlm. org. P H O T O : T H IE R R Y Q UENETTE Photographer Thierry Quenett wants to document the difficult labour conditions faced by many women worldwide. Street News Service. Republished from L ’Itinéraire, Montreal, Canada thursday, October 20th G:3D-9pm world fo re s try cen ter # dinner B drinks U L L A B A L O O t& t an evening to benefit JOIN: Connecting the Street to a Home Far away By Jason W o lf Take me to that place where there’s love in the air Take me to that place where no one judges and everyone cares Take me to that place where there are beautiful clouds and beautiful skies Take me to that place whereno one ever dies Take me to that place where it’s never cold and never hot Take me to that place where no one has a little and everyone has a lot Take me to that place where there’s no getting high Take me to that place where there’s no such thing as a he Take me to that place where there’s no pain Take me to that place where there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain Take me to that place where no one sheds a tear Take me to that place where there is no fear Take me to that place where everyone has a home Take me to that place where no ode’s ever alone Take me to that place. shosoxsa@ gmail. com Uproarious comedy from The Unscriptables! Live music from eclectic rockers The Usual Suspects! Incomparable glamour and glitz from event emcee Darcelle XV! E x el E= C M ’5 C c* M 3 .5, » = * «
