Melanie Dornier photographs, 2013-2016

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Summary

Creator:
Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University), Dornier, Melanie, and Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture
Abstract:
Collection consists of two documentary photography series taken in India by Melanie Dornier. "Mahila Thana: All Women Police Station" is comprised of 56 color digital photographs, taken in 2016, recording daily life inside the walls of the All Women Police Station of Gurugram, Haryana. The images convey the human impacts of woman-specific crimes and social justice, and the role of the police station and its female officers as a safe haven for distressed and abused women. The 54 color digital prints in "Punch My Face: Women's Boxing in India" document the daily life and experiences of Meena Kumari, a wife, mother, daughter, police officer, and boxer, 2013-2016. All prints measure 11 3/4 x 8 inches. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University.
Extent:
1.0 Linear Foot (2 boxes)
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.11523

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of two documentary photography series by Melanie Dornier taken in India. "Mahila Thana: All Women Police Station" is comprised of 56 color digital prints. The photographs - taken during 2016 - record daily life inside the walls of the All Women Police Station of Gurugram, Haryana. The 54 color digital prints in "Punch My Face: Women's Boxing in India, document the experiences of Meena Kumari, a wife, mother, buffalo owner, police officer, and boxer, between 2013 and 2016.

In an artist's statement Dornier describes that in 2012, "...the safety issues of the Indian women and gender violence were brought to the fore by the news of the gang rape and death of a young student in New Delhi, India. Since then funding and action plans have been implemented all around the country. In Gurugram, the millennium city in the state of Haryana, it was decided to open an All Women Police Station (AWPS) as in each of Haryana's districts and this was completed in August 2015. The project 'Mahila Thana,' which is 'All Women Police Station' in Hindi, documents the daily life inside the walls of the AWPS of Gurugram."

On "Punch My Face," Dornier reflects that, "Meena Kumari was born in December 1982 to a modest rural family. Now she is reaching the end of her boxing career and she hopes to soon become a police inspector. In 2001, Meena was one of the first Indian women to become a boxer and enjoyed visibility on the international scene. Her first major fight was confronting her father who believed boxing was not a respectable activity for a woman. Despite this Meena worked harder and harder and quickly reached the national and international stage in the flyweight category (51KG). Back then, female boxers were trained with young boys due to the shortage of women in the ring...at the end of 2016 and at the end of this photo documentary, we see Meena in the first months of her third pregnancy."

Dornier is the winner of the 2017 Bettye Lane Award for Feminist Photography, sponsored by the Archive of Documentary Arts and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.

Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University.

Biographical / historical:

Melanie Dornier is a French documentary photographer who graduated in 2004 with a Masters of Education and Evaluation at the University of Pierre Mendes in Grenoble, France. In 2011 she was nominated for a Salon de la Photo of Paris Emerging Photographer award and in 2016 she received an Oxygen Award.

Dornier is the winner of the 2017 Bettye Lane Award for Feminist Photography, sponsored by the Archive of Documentary Arts and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.

Acquisition information:
The Melanie Dornier photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2017.
Processing information:

Processed and encoded by Paula Jeannet and Sylvia Herbold, November 2017.

Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2017-0126.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged in two sub-series: Mahila Thana: All Women Police Station and Punch My Face: Women's Boxing in India. Prints are in original order as assigned by photographer.

Physical facet:
110 color inkjet prints
Dimensions:
11 3/4 x 8 inches
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

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Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Images may only be viewed for educational, non-commercial purposes; any other use, including print reproductions or distribution by any means requires the photographer's permission.

There is no use or distribution by any means of these images permitted in India until 2028.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Melanie Dornier photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.