Camille Lepage was a French photojournalist who moved to Sudan in 2012 to document the ever-changing lives of the South Sudanese people in face of government oppression. She was killed while working in the Central African Republic in 2014. According to her website, her main interest was documenting the lives of marginalized and oppressed people abandoned by their government.
The photo above is a part of Lepage’s “You Will Forget Me” collection. The collection documents the Nuba people of South Sudan, who have been persecuted by the Sudanese government. According to the description of this collection, “[The Nuba people] live in mountain caves to avoid the [aerial] bombs, and survive primarily on wild fruits and leaves.” This particular photo from the collection depicts the Nuba people huddled close together in a mountain cave. The dim lighting really depicts the bleakness of the Nuba people’s situation. No one is really smiling and most faces are turned away from the camera, depicting the dire situation these people are facing.
https://camille-lepage.photoshelter.com/portfolio/G0000wYDb2WiYmIU/I0000dZa4CueGqe8
Thank you for this summary and context within which to understand this photograph.