Imaginaires argentiques

Silver Imaginaries ----------------------- Silver Imaginaries is a historical and artistic research project exploring the hypothesis that the invention of photography in Europe in the 19th century was made possible by the massive influx of silver extracted from Mexican mines. By bringing together economic history, the history of science, iconographic research and contemporary creation, the project aims to trace the circulation of this metal from Mexican mining centers to the pre-photographic experiments that led to Nicéphore Niépce’s first image. Conducted in collaboration with French and Mexican researchers, it combines archival work in France, Spain and Mexico, a study of the earliest photographic images and field research in the former mining regions of Zacatecas and Guanajuato, in order to examine the material, cultural and imaginative legacies of extractivism. This research will result in conferences and an exhibition presented jointly in Marseille and Mexico. ### Marianne Wasowska Marianne Wasowska studied anthropology in Nanterre before joining the ENSP, from which she graduated in 2014. She then began working for the press as a freelance photographer and iconographer. In 2016–2017, she was a member of the Académie de France in Madrid (Casa de Velázquez), and the following year she received a production grant from the BilbaoArte Foundation to complete her project on dreams. Her work has been exhibited at FotoFestiwal in Łódź, Boutographies, Circulation(s), Encontros do Imagem in Braga, among others. This year, she is a member of the Écumes de Dos Mares program (Marseille, France) and completed a residency at the Cité des Arts in Paris as part of the Elles&Cité program. Her work approaches photography at the intersection of documentary, archive and installation. By working within specific contexts, she uses different image registers to create narrative forms that she brings into dialogue with the inhabitants of the territories concerned.