José NICOLAS (1956) - Lot 198

José NICOLAS (1956) Access to energy, Togo 2017 Digital print 24 x 32 cm Note: In this photograph taken in Togo in 2017, José Nicolas documents the essential issue of access to energy through an intimate and deeply human scene. A woman holds a light source - probably a solar lamp - illuminating a group gathered in a dark room. Here, light becomes a symbol of autonomy, security and transmission. True to his approach as a committed photojournalist, Nicolas highlights the way electricity transforms everyday life, particularly that of women, who are often on the front line of domestic and community use. The composition, structured by the contrast between darkness and light, reveals the discreet but determined hope of a community that is appropriating a new and decisive resource.