Isabelle Armand worked with fashion photographers in her native Paris before permanently relocating to New York City in the 1980's. In the years that followed, she continued to work with a variety of fashion photographers. At that time, she began to experiment with photography and to develop her skills as a photographer in her own right. Concentrating on black-and-white film portraiture and documentaries, primarily in a 6 x 7 medium format, she created several ongoing photographic series. The themes of her work are of social nature and primarily concerned with the living conditions of African American citizens in rural areas, where the consequences of slavery and the so-called "racial segregation" that existed until the 1960s can still be felt today. Armand is currently working in the city of Glendora and its inhabitants in the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest areas of the United States. Armand uses film and photography to document the extreme poverty and harsh conditions under which the inhabitants of this small town suffer. More recently, Armand memorialized, in photographs, the story of two men in rural Mississippi, who endured wrongful conviction for crimes they did not commit and were subsequently exonerated. Her book of photographs, Levon and Kennedy: Mississippi Innocence Project, was published in March 2018 by PowerHouse Books, and has been widely acclaimed. Her work opens the spectator's eye to the structural problems in the American criminal justice system which need to be addressed, identified and resolved. Her work aims to sensitize politicians and the public to the causes and consequences of the American jurisdiction. Because Armand does not let go of these fates, she documents the adverse circumstances of those affected. Photography is a means in the fight against injustice. Photography makes it possible to give the victims of the social circumstances a voice and to take active action against the injustice that has happened to them. Works by Isabelle Armand are in the following collections: Brooklyn Museum- Akron Art Museum- Portland Museum of Art - Private Collections in the USA, Great Britain and France.
