Mavin is a poet. At 41, he left his native Côte d’Ivoire for France, crossing the African continent, then the Mediterranean on a makeshift boat. On his way, he encountered war and many ordeals. At the end of his journey, Paris, he found a life on the streets and disillusionment, before he was received at Emmaüs Solidarité’s Championnet centre.
He was to stay there for five years, and found an outlet through writing, grappling with the publication of his first book, which delivers “a message of wisdom, hope, and nobility”.
Part of the proceeds from the sale of these photographs will be paid to Emmaüs after the exhibition.