Floriane de Lassée

 

 

 

From the roads of Ethiopia to the Himalayan Mountain passes, drivers race past men, women, and children carrying heavy loads atop their heads, often staring, waving, or simply avoiding them. In 2012, Floriane de Lassée  [b. 1977, Paris, France] decided to stop her car on a roadside in Ethiopia, and speak with the carriers whose lives were spent walking from place to place. How Much Can You Carry? is an ongoing project about the personal and familial burdens one carries on a daily basis. Working in Rwanda, Nepal, Indonesia, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Japan and other countries, de Lassée asked people to talk about what mattered most to them. And in these remote communities, what mattered most was often objects of necessity or survival: sacks of grains for the farmer, bales of straw to be traded for a cooking pan, or empty bottles to be recycled. The participants show a surprising sense of curiosity, fun, and pride while bearing a life of consumption, ritual, or needs on their heads. 

​

​

Proceeds donated to Afghanistan Libre.. Afghanistan is still considered "the worst country to live as a woman" and, in 2014, "the worst place to give birth and to be born". Afghan women have their fundamental rights under threat every day. Free Afghanistan aims to promote their autonomy, allow access to their rights, and to be active in the sustainable development of their country through access to education, health awareness, psycho-social monitoring, and socio-economic activities.

Afghanistan Libre

​

​

More information on Floriane de Lassée's work

​

​

​