Passport presents François-Marie Banier's portraits of immigrants made on the streets of
Paris-these men with thousands of kilometers behind them says Banier who appear suddenly at
Place de la République or gathered near the Gare de l'Est station or along the Canal St.
Martin eyes on the horizon. The resulting pictures are direct honest and a form of embrace:
I march up to them with my camera which is like a small cannon-hardly a reassuring sight in
these times of war we now have in Paris. And as if the word had somehow got around one by one
they all enter its dark chamber as if it were a confessional where you unburden yourself of
your sins your obsessions and your despair. I open my arms to each one press each head
against my heart. Their alarm-I know how they feel. Produced at the size of a real passport and
pairing Banier's photos with lyrical text fragments by Atiq Rahimi Passport is a compassionate
look at exile foreignness and belonging.
