Philippines

In 1977, I was hanging around in South East Asia. On a plane to Manila I met sick Europeans in search of a recovery by “faith healers”, recovery that their doctors no longer gave them hope for. I accompanied some of them to Baguio, where although not ill I too was warmly welcome by these apparently very religious healers. I was fully allowed to photograph their practices (the patients also agreed).

After reflection, I never published these photos, not wanting to publicize practices that were, to say the least, astonishing (and that left me puzzled), publicity that these healers were perhaps seeking after.

Although I had many happy adventures on the island of Luzon, there was so much painful intensity in these encounters of the last chance for the patients (I hope some of them have survived) that it totally eclipsed what I retain from this month spent in this wonderful country. Therefore the Philippines can finally be summed up for me as this episode.

Today I have found these forgotten negatives and finally show them. All this occurred such a long ago…