
Photography and Me
Born in France, I have travelled the world and been living in Africa for several years. I am based in Kigali (Rwanda) since 2019.
My firts pictures were the ones I did in my mind looking by the window of the car when I was going on holidays. I had my first camera at 12 and Photography has always been a way to express myself and to explore the world with a nomadic look. After long years working in cinema and cultural project managment, I finally chose to work fully as a photographer in 2018.
I love streets photography, capturing the everyday life and its unusual details. In 2018, I became a member of the collective of photographers Flash Abidjan which organizes photo walks and exhibitions each month in different places of the city. Then I founded Flash Kigali in 2020 and launched Flash Brazzaville in 2022. I also take pictures of live performances (dance, theater, concerts, circus) and enjoy the challenge of catching the emotion in movement. In 2018, I was involved in the project Amazones with the NGO Doctors of the World in Ivory Coast with women using drugs which was exhibited in Austria, Portugal and France in 2019. I did two solo exhibitions (in Abidjan and in Kigali) and have participated in several collective projects such as “What do you see?”, “Walk with Me” and "Women's eye" exhibitions recently in Kigali. With the Flash Africa collective experience, I did over 30 photo walks followed by exibitions. I work also on personal and conceptual series questioning women bodies and about places in transition.
Christel ARRAS
