You can see me,
but I don’t exist
Library of Birmingham, Manchester Central Library, and Stratford Library, London
Alan Gignoux
1 June – 7 August 2023, in conjunction with Refugee Week
You can see me, but I don’t exist is an exhibition-in-a-book shown in public libraries during Refugee Week 2023. The project addressed the lived experience of “invisibility” faced by asylum seekers in the UK, who often withstand prolonged periods of uncertainty and marginalisation.
The project’s origins lie in Gignoux’s earlier work with refugees in France, Belgium, Austria, and Sweden in 2018. During this period, he repeatedly encountered accounts of identity eroded by years spent at the edges of society, invisible both to immigration systems and to the societies in which people sought refuge. Gignoux was particularly struck by the words of a young Afghan man awaiting the outcome of his final asylum appeal in Sweden: “You can see me, but I don’t exist.” Borrowing this phrase as its title, the project takes invisibility and dehumanisation as its central themes.
Refugees photographed in Leigh, Manchester, November 2022
For the UK portraits, Gignoux worked with a camera obscura, using long exposures to render the figures of those he photographed deliberately blurred, while their surroundings remain sharply in focus. This strategy served a dual purpose. Practically, it protected the identities of participants who feared contact with the authorities. Conceptually, the loss of visual definition functions as a metaphor for the corrosive effects of the asylum system.
Central to the project is the inclusion of participants’ voices. Alongside the portraits, refugees were invited to respond to the images through creative writing. These texts were developed through workshops led by experienced poets, providing participants with space to reflect on their personal experiences of exile. The combination of image and text creates a layered narrative that goes beyond passive representation and foregrounds lived experience.
“On my table, there will always be bread,” by the refugees in the Manchester writing workshop, page from the exhibition-in-a-book
The pilot phase of You can see me, but I don’t exist took place in London in summer 2022. With support from a National Lottery Project Grant, the project was subsequently extended to Manchester and Birmingham, where further photographic sessions and writing workshops were held in autumn 2022 and spring 2023.
The completed series was exhibited in all three cities during Refugee Week 2023: Shakespeare Memorial Room, Library of Birmingham (1 June–7 August), Manchester Central Library (2–30 June), and Stratford Library, London (19 June–1 July).
The Birmingham exhibition was a special collaboration between the photographer and the Everything to Everybody project, whose mission is to unlock the first, oldest and largest Shakespeare collection in any public library in the world. The exhibition incorporated a selection of items that engaged with stories of exile, highlighting texts from, amongst others, The Tempest and The Comedy of Errors that address these themes.
You can see me, but I don’t exist exhibited in Thameside Library, Manchester
Exhibition-in-a-book
You can see me, but I don’t exist was also presented as an exhibition-in-a-book, allowing the portraits and texts to be experienced either as an installation or as a bound publication. Housed in a binder with installation guidance, the format enabled the exhibition to be dismantled, exhibited and reassembled. This approach extended the project’s lifespan and ensured it could be hosted by libraries across the UK, embedding the work within public spaces dedicated to access, learning, and civic engagement. A launch for the exhibition-in-a-book was hosted by The Photographers’ Gallery.
A tabloid-size newspaper version of the exhibition was also created so the participants would have a record of their work.
About the Photographer
Alan Gignoux is an award-winning documentary photographer and founder of Gignouxphotos, which produces documentary photography projects focussing on socio-political and environmental issues around the world. Gignoux specializes in long form documentary projects that explore an issue and its impact on communities over long periods of several years; combining photography, video, interviews, research, and writing in creative and innovative ways to create layered projects offering multiple perspectives https://gignouxphotos.com/
Credits
Supported by Arts Council England
Jenny Christensson
Exhibition curator
Woodren Brade
Essay on Immigration
Chloe Juno
Creative Consultant
Malka al Haddad
Birmingham writing workshop leader
Emily Macaulay at Stanley James Press
Exhibition-in-a-book design
Ambrose Musiyiwa
Exhibition-in-a-book editor and Birmingham writing workshop leader
Laila Sumpton
London writing workshop leader
Refugee organisation partners:
JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service), London; Baobab Women’s Project and Stories of Hope and Home, Birmingham; Everything Human Rights, Manchester.
Library partner:
Everything to Everyone, Library of Birmingham
Participating refugees who wished to be named:
Birmingham:
Abimbola, Alberto, Andrea, Aster, Bethlehem, Cedric, Danawit, Dani, Emeka, Esther, Faith, Fares, Hana, Kwaku, Margaret, Massaba, Maurice, Meskrem, Mika, Samrawit, Temitayo, Tesfay.
Manchester:
Alfredo, Aziz, Christopher, Clarence, Ediri, Esnath, Farai, Gloria, Jayson, Lubna, Raya, Sonia, and Sherma.
London:
Easton, Ferdus, Gabriel, Gladys, Margaret, Muhydeen, Omar, Omilola, Pham, and Vlad.