Marin Driguez. Ce qui demeure

Spiritual care and the humanisation of care at the Grand Hôpital de Charleroi
A photographic immersion by Marin Driguez, accompanied by Marcela Lobo Bustamante

The meeting between Marin Driguez, a photographer, and Marcela Lobo Bustamante, spiritual care coordinator at the Grand Hôpital de Charleroi, gave rise to the project ‘Spiritual care and the humanisation of care’. Strongly supported by the institution’s senior management, this initiative builds on a fundamental reflection informed by spiritual care: how can we restore meaning to the work of care, support the commitment of carers, and breathe new life into a profession facing fatigue, pressure and the complexity of real-life situations? Together, Marin Driguez and Marcela Lobo Bustamante present a work of visual sociology that restores relationships, presence and attentiveness to others to the very heart of healthcare practices, as the foundations of care. 

The hospital is, by its very nature, a place of transits, encounters and unique forms of communication. Patients, carers, administrative, technical and logistical staff cross paths there on a daily basis, each contributing to the life of this diverse micro-society. What does the hospital reveal about our contemporary world? What does a sick person experience when they walk through its doors and suddenly lose their bearings? And how do healthcare professionals today perceive their work on the ground? In an environment characterised by intensity, technical complexity and urgency, how can one maintain a quality of presence and an inner openness in the care relationship? How can their actions remain open to the individuality and subjectivity of every person? 

For nearly six months, Marin Driguez explored the wards of the Grand Hôpital de Charleroi. This immersion forms part of an ongoing project the photographer began nearly eight years ago in several Brussels hospitals, which gave rise to the book Prendre soin (Taking Care), published by Gallimard, 2025. Through the mobility afforded by the camera, Marin Driguez highlights what remains human in care practices, beyond institutional constraints and medical requirements. His work invites us to slow down and break free from the automatic routines of daily life which, little by little, obscure the quiet beauty of human gestures, acts of kindness and steadfastness. His photography creates a suspended space, a breathing space where listening, connection and recognition of the other can fully unfold. It seeks to bring to the surface what often remains invisible: the depth of the relationship that develops between the carer and the person being cared for. Through the light he sheds on these fragile and precious moments, Marin Driguez reminds us that care is not merely an act or a process, but is above all a way of being in the world, an art of connection, an encounter ‘altered’ by human diversity – by others distinct from myself. 

Marcela Lobo Bustamante
Spiritual care coordinator at the Grand Hôpital de Charleroi 

 
Marin Driguez is a French photographer born in 1999. He lives and works between Brussels and Paris. In 2014, he began documenting social struggles and current affairs in France. In 2017, he began studying photography at 75 in Brussels and joined Agence VU’ in 2022. He has developed a documentary style and favours long-term projects, having undertaken a project on the Belgian hospital system Prendre soin, documenting its daily life and challenges since 2018. This project led to an exhibition and a book published by Gallimard in 2025. At the same time, he has continued to collaborate with various international media outlets (The Washington Post, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, The Sunday Times, Le Monde, MSF, Libération, L’Obs, ELLE, la RTBF, l’Equipe...). 

 
Curated and designed by: Pierre Liebaert and Massao Mascaro

In collaboration with the Grand Hôpital de Charleroi 

With the support of the French Embassy in Belgium and the Institut français. As part of EXTRA, a programme supporting contemporary French creativity in Belgium.