la mer à aubervilliers

They come from Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Mali or Afghanistan. At the Jean Moulin middle school, the students wrote down their memories of water: the beach with friends, the boat on the Nile, fishing in the river with grandpa, the waterfall of Béjaïa. Then they looked for what, in their own town, reminds them of the sea: the canal, the swimming pool, the Seine a little further away.

“I have memories of the sea with my friends in Yemen and in Egypt, we used to go canoeing. I like living in Aubervilliers, but I'd love to have the sea in Aubervilliers,” writes Mohammed. The group then went to see it in Le Havre: the harbor by boat, sea kayaking, the beach and, for some, the sea for the very first time. “In Mali, I played every day by the river with my friend,” says one student.

Back home, the students put their photographs, cut-out images and texts together into seven large collages.