"Qua Patet Orbis"

"The series “Here are the young men”(The Netherlands – Afghanistan, 2009-2010) show photos of Dutch marines deployed to Afghanistan. These marines are young boys, full of excitement and expectations who are being sent to a war zone. There they are confronted with pain, sadness and death. Will something appear on their faces of these experiences? "
Claire Felicie

"How do the faces of soldiers change — before, during, and then after, war? Can we detect profound or subtle psychological shifts just by looking at their portraits?

This is precisely the challenge that Claire Felicie presents with her series of triptych portraits of marines of the 13th infantry company of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps. The series, Here are the Young Men (Marked), shows close-cropped portraits of the Dutch marines before, during and after they were deployed to Uruzgan, Afghanistan in 2009-2010.

Without doubt, every viewer will project a bit of himself or herself into the readings of these photographs. No matter what conclusions you draw, the images are compelling."
Jim Casper at Lens Culture

NB : Le titre de cette note renvoie à la devise des Marines néerlandais ; par ailleurs il est peut-être intéressant de savoir que ce 13e bataillon d'infanterie est un bataillon spécialisé dans la survie en jungle, c'est vraiment un entraînement et des missions particuliers (je pense que l'équivalent en France serait le CRAJ du 9e RIMA posté en Guyane - les anciens ont même un fb, mooderne... bah quoi, mon grand-père est militaire, je connais mes RIMA, pas vous ?)