Cigarette Vendor and Fan of Adolf Hitler, Cours de la Révolution, Annaba, 3 July 2010

By the Monument aux Rapatriés, Marseille

Spilled Tar by the Monument aux Rapatriés, Marseille

To the soundtrack of Archie Shepp Live at the Pan-African Festival (1969)

Ghosts: De Gaulle, Metro Stalingrad, Paris

Passerelle de la Fraternité, Aubervilliers, Paris

[Bridge bearing a plaque in commemoration of 17 October 1961]

Dear Ed and Joe,

Bridges, crossings, and bodies of water as liquid frontiers are emerging as key features of my journey and yours, it seems.

All best,

John

Place La Courneuve – 8 Mai 1945, Paris, 12 June 2010

Eau Sauvage, Place La Courneuve – 8 Mai 1945, Paris, 12 June 2010

A place name commemorating not only VE Day but also a day when massacres took place against peaceful protesters in French Algeria, at Guelma, Bône, and Sétif. Courneuve has a high concentration of North African, Sub-Saharan, Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Vietnamese, and Chinese immigrants.

Pont de Neuilly, Paris, 12 June 2010

One of the sites of police violence on the night of 17 Oct 1961.

‘YOU HIT ME, WE HIT YOU!’, Pont Saint Michel, Paris, 11 June 2010

Photographed by the plaque commemorating the 17th of October 1961, when Algerian protesters were murdered by the French police.

What is a Journey?

In Soho, Zineb Sedira tells me that, for her, journeys begin with herself, her family, and the telling of stories. It is in this sense, perhaps, that the beginning of every journey involves a return that is perpetually remade in the retelling. Retold and also reframed with every new picture that maps unexpected destinations.