The Forgotten of the Western
Chloé Kerleroux
2025 — Louisiana, USA
About this series
This series explores contemporary cowboy cultures that exist outside dominant representations, focusing on Creole cowboys in Louisiana and Native rodeos in Blackfeet territory in North America.
Far from the Hollywood myth of the white cowboy, these cultures are rooted in a long and largely overlooked history. As early as the 18th century, men of African descent were involved in cattle herding in Louisiana, bringing with them knowledge inherited from West Africa. Later, racial segregation largely excluded them from official rodeos, contributing to the emergence of distinct practices such as trail rides, now deeply connected to Creole culture and zydeco music.
Among the Blackfeet, the horse also holds a central place. Introduced to the Great Plains, it profoundly transformed ways of life and continues to shape contemporary identities. Through rodeos and relay races, these practices become spaces of transmission, pride, and continuity.
Working in close proximity to these communities, Chloé Kerleroux focuses on gestures, bodies, and presences. Her images unfold in the margins: moments of waiting, shared time, and the relationships between humans and horses.
The cowboy no longer appears as a fixed figure, but as an identity in constant transformation, shaped by multiple histories and contemporary realities.
Photographer: Chloé Kerleroux
Nationality: French
Based in: Paris, France
Website: www.chloekerleroux.com
Instagram: @chloe_kerleroux
Chloé Kerleroux is a French photographer from Brittany, based in Paris. Self-taught, she develops long-term documentary work focused on communities that are often underrepresented, exploring the tension between cultural heritage and contemporary transformations, with a particular attention to pride and resilience.
Through frontal portraits and an immersive approach, she engages with questions of identity, transmission, and representation. Her projects have taken her from African American rodeos in the southern United States to Indigenous communities in North America, as well as to Gypsy horse fairs, Mexican folk religious practices in Tepito, Roma communities in Bulgarian villages, and an immersion inside a women’s prison in Cancún.
Her work has been published in several international outlets, including Society, Vice, Fisheye, and The Guardian, and has been presented in various international festivals and competitions.