Unlawful Presences
Laurence Rasti
Nominated by
Centre de la photographie Genève
"Unlawful Presences" addresses the significant part of the population of Geneva, Switzerland, who lives without legal immigration status. While two thirds of the population of this wealthy area of the world are of immigrant origin, and while the diversity of this city of often celebrated by its inhabitants and politicians alike, the realities of its residents without status remain harsh. Housing, safe working conditions, or access to healthcare, education or justice are not guaranteed and sometimes entirely out of reach, and they are at constant risk of being arrested, imprisoned and expelled from the country. Their portraits by Laurence Rasti are walking a fine line between individual portraiture and the preservation of anonymity for their own safety. Her photographs bring visibility and representation to a part of the population who must remain almost invisible to live in Swiss society. She further contextualises their presence within Geneva by photographing them in well-known public areas and accompanying their portraits with images of demonstrations or administrative buildings related to law enforcement. The photographs were exhibited in 2021 in the streets of Geneva, and a second phase of the project involves an app giving access to the stories of the participants, and providing information on housing, nutrition and other resources for migrants.
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The Artist
Laurence Rasti
Nominated in
2024
By
Centre de la photographie Genève
Lives and Works in
Geneva, Switzerland
Laurence Rasti was born in 1990 to Iranian parents in Switzerland. She studied photography at ECAL – University of Art and Design Lausanne (BA, 2014) and fine arts at HEAD – Geneva University of Art and Design (MA, 2019). Her projects often explore issues surrounding identity, visibility, legitimacy and representation. Drawing from the duality of her own cultural background, she examines Swiss and Iranian cultural codes and conventions in order to understand the influence of gender roles in society. The consequences of migration or the non-respect of fundamental rights is another strong focus of many of her recent projects.
Her book "There Are No Homosexuals in Iran" (Edition Patrick Frey, 2017) was shortlisted for the Paris Photo Aperture First Photobook Award, the Author Book Award of Rencontres d’Arles, and nominated as one of the 10 best photobooks of 2017 by the New York Times Magazine. Her work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions around the world, including "ReGeneration3" at Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, "Disruptive Perspectives" at Museum of Contemporary in Chicago and Photoforum Pasquart in Biel, "Iran Contemporary" at Fotohof Art Gallery in Austria, and several festivals including PhotoKatmandu, Athens Photo Festival and Tokyo International Photography Festival. She was the laureate of the Photographic Survey of the City of Geneva in 2019, and of the Photographic Survey of Canton Neuchâtel in 2022.
More projects by this artist
2024
A Wall as Horizon
"A Wall as Horizon" addresses the significant over-representation of vulnerable individuals in the Swiss carceral system. Having gained a rare access to the jail La Promenade in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Laurence Rasti is working in collaborative and participatory ways with the detainees. She photographs them and equips them with pinhole cameras so that they can create their own representations of their daily life. With this project, she aims to empower them as authors and experts on their own situation. Furthermore, she seeks to foster critical reflections on the Swiss prison system and its possible shortcomings. Through exchanges with detainees, scholars and theorists, she intends to critically examine the reasons behind the over-representation of disadvantaged individuals, often with a migratory background, in Swiss jails, which can appear to be a wilful punishment of the poor.
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