Case study

Who were they ?

Claude Cahun, (born October 25, 1894, Nantes, France—died December 8, 1954, St. Helier, Jersey), was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer in which she is best known for her self portraits in which she explored many different personas, but overall using the same style, while spreading the same message with each one. In 1937 she moved to Jersey with her step sister and lover, Marcel Moore and because of this she ended up being captured by the Nazis in the German occupation of Jersey, because of this she died in German captivity in 1954 through illness and from the harsh living conditions she most likely had to go through. Because of the difficult times caused by the struggles and prejudice from this time in history that she had to endure, most likely influenced the ideas and point she was trying to make within her work. As said by Cahun “Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me.”, through this she is trying to convey an idea that was not only uncommon in those times, but also unpopular in which she created an idea much more ahead of its time which inevitably, coinciding with her Jewish heritage, resulted in her capture and demise. Cahun’s not so much sacrifice but identity which was abnormal to the world she lived in has helped to shape the way people are treated and the way identity is viewed within the world of photography. Cahun’s lover and step sister, Moore killed herself in 1972. They are both buried together in St Brelade’s churchyard as lasting memories of what they fought for.

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