FINE ART PRINT - LIMITED EDITION IN TIME
 
A limited selection of Vincent Tremeau’s iconic photos are now for sale. Editions are hand signed and numbered by Vincent.
 
The story behind the photo from Vincent's words:
 
How Old Are You ?
 
A city hall employee sits in the archive room of birth certificates. Thiaroye, Senegal.
 
It can be surprising at first, but lots of people in many different places across Africa - especially in remote locations - don't know their age. 
 
When talking with people I want to portray, I always ask their age. I sometimes get an awkward smile as an answer, so I end up writing an approximate age we agree on. 
 
In some cultures, age is at the core of how we should be considered. It puts us in different categories, giving us either credibility, or just the right to remain passive. 
 
We evaluate where we are in our lives or carreers based on our age. 
'I am a 35-years-old woman and don't have children yet.'
'I am 40 and hate my job, but can't change career because I am too old.'
 
I understand the pressure, yet I believe that it is only a mental barrier. If other people on our planet can live without knowing (and therefore caring about) their exact age, why do others focus on it? Why do we put much attention to our ages,  if it brings anxiety and fear of achieving what we really want.
 
When I took this photo in the birth certificate room in the suburb of Dakar, my initial thought was that it was giving me an answer of why so many people wouldn't know their age. 
 
Now, the more I look at it, the more I realize it is maybe not such a bad thing.