Gévrise Emane, 2012

A word about the work

(REF : CCAB001)
This studio portrait is part of a series produced for Divine which, following Body and Soul, a passion for women’s sport is the second book to be conceived and brought to fruition by Sandrine Retailleau.
The author (Sandrine) and the photographer (Catherine) met twelve exceptional sports women and captured in words and images their personal journey.
Gévrise Emane is a judoka. She has twice been World Champion (2007 in the 70kg class, and 2011 in the 63 kg class). She also won bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the 63kg class.
She has changed her body to compete in a lighter class, and found new sensations of agility and grace.
When she was talking to Sandrine, Gévrise the shy, the sensitive, the reserved said she has to dig deep for her matches to find an aggressiveness that doesn’t come naturally to her.

Solid. That is the word that springs to mind when you meet Gévrise. You’d like her to hug you. Her body is dynamite with muscles everywhere. But she is also as gentle as she is strong. I was really pleased with this photo which is like a prayer, a salute, a nod to her sport.

Jean-Denis’s choice

Superb pose, remarkable use of light. It is gentle, refined and respectful, like the woman herself.
I think it is one of the great images of this project.