Essay
Anne-Marie Sallé
Clairvaux, abbey and prison: this dual identity, unique in France today, can only inspire projects reflecting such singularity. It is by drawing on the exceptional nature of this site, both in terms of its history and heritage and the major humanist questions raised by the prison environment, that Anne-Marie Sallé, from the creation of the “Ombres et lumières” festival in 2004, has built a comprehensive artistic project around this identity, of which confinement, whether voluntary or imposed, remains the common denominator.
The inmates who authored the texts in this book participated in writing and photography workshops in collaboration with guest composers from the “Ombres et Lumières” music festival and artists from various disciplines. The goal—achieved, as evidenced by the quality of the texts produced—was to give the inmates a voice and offer them a form of escape through culture.
This writing process forms the basis of the libretto for a musical composition for choir. Several works by Philippe Hersant and Thierry Machuel were thus created within this context.
This book aims to recount this experience, combining the texts and images of the inmates with the works and interventions of the participating artists. All of these texts are accompanied by two portfolios, created by Jacqueline Salmon and Julien Sallé.
Throughout the pages, texts, and images, the inmates, with restraint and talent, share their solitude, their nostalgia, and their dreams.
Tentatives d’évasion
Jacky, Frank, Kirru, Jean-Pierre, Éric, Agustin, Hadi, Dumé, Adrien, Bruno, Christophe, Denis, François, Gilles, Ilich, Djamel, Pascal, Sébastien, Neimo, Pierrot, Régis, Takezo, Tonio, Vincent, Yasine, and Ali are or have been detained at Clairvaux Central Prison.
Philippe Claudel is a writer and director. He taught for many years in prisons.
Thierry Machuel is a French composer born in 1962. He received the Pierre Cardin Prize from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2001 and the SACEM Prize for Vocal Music in 2008.
Philippe Hersant is a composer born in 1948. His work has been recognized with numerous awards (Victoires de la Musique Classique 2005 and 2010; Sacem Prize; Maurice Ravel Prize, etc.). He is a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
Gérard Condé is a French composer born in 1947. A writer for the newspaper Le Monde from 1975, he has explored a wide range of musical genres.
Jean-Michel Nectoux is a French musicologist born in 1946. In 1980, he founded the “Harmonies” series of books on music at Flammarion.
Gilbert Blanc was the director of Clairvaux Central Prison from 2006 to 2010. He was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2010.
Julien Sallé is a French director and photographer, born in 1974. He graduated in directing from FAMU (Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague).
Jacqueline Salmon is a photographer.