[texte de C.B.]

I met Jesse Dumont in May 2005. This 53-year-old woman told me she had six children (including a nine-year-old girl) and that she was writing a book: "Le bas fond de la rue et l'enfer de l'itinérance" ("Down and Out in the Street and the Misery of Homelessness"). I never saw the book. Jesse was punctual and worked on her sittings, she put an effort into preparing for them, she even cut out pictures from magazines. She let herself go, despite her back pain, which prevented her from holding a pose longer than thirty seconds. Jesse had been a stripper for 32 years. She lived in Viger park for an entire summer. She washed in a fountain and slept behind some bushes. When it rained, she waited under a children's slide. Jesse didn't show up for her last session. There are many rumours about her death.