Nicknamed the "Tunisian Doisneau" by the former French Minister of Culture Frédéric Mitterrand, Jacques Pérez was known for his photos illustrating the diversity and cultural richness of Tunisia.
Born in the medina of Tunis where he has always lived, Jacques Pérez began to practice photography as a teenager.
After 15 years of photographing as an amateur alongside his job as a teacher, a major Tunisian publisher had commissioned him to write a photo book on Sidi Bou Saïd, a tourist village perched on a cliff in the northern suburbs of the capital, which had launched his career.
"I learned nowhere to take photos, no need, it's the eye above all that is there. I like to look at 360 degrees and show what I saw. There was no a vocation, it came by itself,” he told AFP on the sidelines of one of his exhibitions last October.
This lover of Tunisia, loved to photograph his country.
His photos also illustrated the rites and traditions of the Jewish community in Djerba (south).
Tunisian photographer Jacques Pérez during an exhibition of his photos on October 8, 2021 in Tunis FETHI BELAID AFP / Archives
"I don't take myself seriously, a photo makes me happy to take it, I don't make it a drama or a mystery".
"I am neither the father, nor the cousin, nor the grandfather of Tunisian photography, I am just a photographer in Tunisia," Jacques Pérez told AFP.
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