Cherche RADIUMINEUSE

Cherche RADIUMINEUSE is a photographic exploration of a little-known facet of Swiss industrial history: the contribution and fate of the female workers known as ‘Radiumineuses’.

Between the early 1920s and the late 1960s, hundreds of women workers applied radium-based phosphorescent paint to watch dials and hands, enabling them to tell the time in the dark. For years, they repeated the same meticulous gestures in factories or at home, handling the radioactive substance without adequate protection. The bodies of these women, and sometimes those of their loved ones, were thus exposed to serious and irreversible risks. Invisible, many of these workers saw their health sacrificed for the benefit of an industry that today remains a symbol of Swiss excellence.

Faced with a lack of visual representations in official archives, I chose to produce photographs that are both dreamlike and spectral, inspired by the testimonies and memories of those who knew or worked alongside these women. 

The project combines cropped archive documents with contemporary, abstract images and photographs of objects found during the clean-up of contaminated buildings.

The work is both an investigation and a tribute. It questions the historical silence and indifference towards the fate of the little hands, while highlighting the existence and contribution of these women in the Swiss watchmaking industry. More broadly, Cherche RADIUMINEUSE invites reflection on resilience, justice and the recognition of people who are invisible in official narratives.

If you know a former radiumgirl, please contact me!

Project supported by the City of Geneva’s grant for a documentary photographic project.