Republican printing

Paris, May 2019.

To write one’s first name is to learn how to discipline one’s gesture to mark individuality: AGATHE, ALEX, ANIA, ARYEM, EDEN. To be born in writing in a variety of downstrokes, upstrokes and space between letters, under the watchful eye of adults who transmit block letters. In this kindergarten, ELIOT, EVAN, FARES, HEZAKIAH or INNA have been carefully aligned by their teachers alongside 140 other names and self-portraits. JOUMENE, KESIAH, LIDYA, LINDA or MAXIME, every student occupies the same space in society, utters the republican school on red dishcloths sold to parents. And yet, Sociology belabours.
Whether they can write their name or not, MELINDA, MOUHAMED-AZIZ, NATHAN, NEELANY and NINO should represent themselves before the printer reproduces their portraits. MATIAS bears large scales, ANDRÉA has beautiful bunny ears, HUGO and ASSIA wear a crown, SOLÈNE has six arms whereas AURÉLIEN has not. This nice republican society of equals enters in the kitchen warming up the demon of the ranking with some short psychological explanations on the egos behind the first names.