José NICOLAS (1956) - Lot 255

José NICOLAS (1956) Le fou du village, Afghanistan, 1984 Silver print On the back, artist's stamp, signed, dated, titled, located and numbered 2/8 Size including margins: 40 x 50 cm Note : In the center of the group, a man holds a weapon, motionless, while children crowd around him, their gazes sometimes curious, sometimes amused. Nicknamed "the village fool", he embodies a marginal figure, at once familiar and enigmatic, integrated into daily life without ever fully forming part of it. The smiles, postures and closeness of the bodies contrast with the symbolic harshness of the weapon, creating a subtle tension between innocence, playfulness and latent threat. In this scene, both tender and disturbing, José Nicolas captures the ambiguity of human relationships in a context marked by widespread violence, where childhood continues to seek laughter and lightness.