“For the last few years I have been pleasantly surprised by Mali. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the president Alpha Oumar Konaré who wanted to relive, in the form of a book, his presidential campaign of Mai 1997, which I had documented for the French newspaper Libération. I felt deeply honoured and was particularly interested in the idea of delving back into this project and sharing the experience of his electoral campaign. From our conversations I understood how much he wanted me to be entirely free as to my choice of photography. In this series of approximately fifteen photographs, I wanted to convey the rhythm, atmosphere, and excitement of this fortnight during which I followed the President standing for elections on his journey right to the interior of Mali.
From Bamako to Kayes, passing through Timbuktu, Sikasso and Mopti, I travelled for fifteen days at a frantic pace, going from one organised meeting to the next, meeting people at random, immersing myself in huge crowds and participating in endless debates.
Beyond the portrait of a man and beyond that of a campaigning president, this book enabled me to express what I see every time I am in Mali: the extraordinary energy of the men and women of this country.”
Gilles Coulon