Beyond gloom and gore, De Viguerie captures humanity in war

“I arrived in Afghanistan with so many assumptions,” De Viguerie recalled. “I thought Afghan women were silent, submissive victims. But then I met policewomen in Kandahar—strong, and laughing. They were nothing like the image I had in my mind,” she said pointing at a photograph during the talk. 

This was a moment of reckoning for the young photographer, one that would define her approach to storytelling.

From Afghanistan to Iraq, Syria to Ukraine, De Viguerie’s work delves into the contradictions of war. Her images juxtapose tenderness with violence, despair with hope. In one striking photograph, a Kurdish fighter, fresh from the frontline, cradles her baby. “This picture is important to me,” De Viguerie explained. “I had just become a mother, and people told me, ‘Now you have to stop this work.’ But here was a woman, fighting for her people’s freedom, and still a mother. It’s not either-or; you can be both.”

Humanising the ‘enemy’

One of De Viguerie’s most striking observations is the humanity that exists even among those branded as villains. While embedded with American troops in Afghanistan, she captured an image of soldiers walking through opium fields—an ironic contrast given the global war on drugs. In another, a Taliban fighter shelters from drones beneath an apple tree, his AK machinegun resting beside him. “He had a tiny embroidered bag for his rifle, something delicate,” she said. “It reminded me that these men are human, too. We all have the capacity for terrible things, given the right circumstances.”

This perspective is essential, she argues, in dismantling the simplistic ‘good versus evil’ narrative that often dominates mainstream media. “The world is much more complex than that. If we only see one side of the story, we risk missing the truth.”

Even in the depths of war, life carries on. De Viguerie’s images capture weddings in Mosul, carnival celebrations in Rio’s favelas, and children taking their first steps in underground bunkers in Ukraine. “During conflict, emotions are heightened,” she said. “Pain is sharper, but joy is, too.”

The weight of bearing witness

Does she ever want to intervene? “Of course,” she admitted. “But I’m not a rescuer. I’m a journalist. My role is to tell the story, to make people see. And hopefully, by showing these realities, I can spark change.”

The advantage of being a woman in war zones

Though war photography has long been a male-dominated field, De Viguerie argues that being a woman offers unexpected advantages. “You get access to both worlds. I can speak to men, but I can also enter the women’s spaces where men can’t go. In Afghanistan, I’m seen as a kind of ‘third sex’—not one of their women, not a man, but something in between. That grants me an intimacy male photographers don’t have.”

Her exhibition at Xposure 2025 reminds us that beyond the headlines, there are people living, laughing, falling in love, and fighting for a future.

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The text discusses the perspective of De Viguerie, a war photographer, who highlights the advantages of being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field. She explains that her gender allows her access to both male and female spaces, particularly in contexts like Afghanistan, where she is viewed as a "third sex." This unique position gives her a level of intimacy in her work that male photographers may not experience. Her exhibition at Xposure 2025 emphasizes the human stories behind the headlines, showcasing the lives and struggles of people in conflict zones.