Background information

"At the end of 1975, Jane Evelyn ATWOOD, having settled in Paris shortly before, created her first photo-reportage, in black and white, in a simple, efficient and at the same time sensitive form. From an encounter with a prostitute in the Rue des Lombards, she discovered a world where everything fascinated her: extraordinary characters, incredible costumes, glimpses of men.... The entrance of the building shabby, the walls dirty, the floor full of cigarette butts, a penetrating smell of piss, yet convinced of her desire to know these women better, she spent a whole year of her evenings and nights photographically accompanying the prostitutes in the brothel: being patient and not asking too much, always being present, but only taking pictures when the moment allowed it. Empathy with her subjects, immersion, rejection of the superficial, constant respect for the other - Jane Evelyn ATWOOD made a pact with time and did not fight it. This year in the Rue des Lombards was not only crucial for her photographic work, but as a woman it also taught her a lot about human nature, relations between men and women, money and lack of money, and power or powerlessness. These fascinating encounters and demanding work also led to a deep friendship with Blondine, an extraordinary woman who remains close to the photographer's heart today.
More than thirty years later (2011), the entirety of this little-known work by Jane Evelyn ATWOOD, celebrated today for her social photography, has been published in book form for the first time. The volume represents a beautiful tribute to these women, their generosity, as well as to Paris at night in the late 1970s." (slightly adapted publisher's text, © Editions Xavier Barral, 2011)