Gwenn Dubourthoumieu

I became interested in photography while working in Africa for humanitarian NGOs. Based in Kinshasa in 2010-2011, I photographed the work of NGOs and United Nations agencies, covered the news as a photo correspondent for Agence France Presse (AFP), and carried out committed documentary work on social, environmental and human rights issues. In particular, I developed a photographic essay on the social and environmental consequences of copper extraction, which entered the permanent collection of the Library of Congress in the United States. I also developed an essay on sexual violence that explored the spread of gender-based violence by civilian perpetrators as a consequence of a conflict infamous for the use of rape as a weapon of war, which received a Getty Image grant. Since 2012, based in Paris, I regularly travel to the DRC to continue my photographic exploration of the country.